A Story to Tell
by seilif
Summary: The aftermath has passed, Hidden Leaf has been taken back from the Danzo the Usurper. Now, Naruto can finally mourn. And what about Agrias? Ahh, of course, find out if you read Chapter 5!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Final Fantasy.

– **Prologue** – _Awakening_

As the pale moonlight made its way into the stone walls and floors of the room; a bandaged male figure stirred slowly on a bed. A lone attendant to the victim sat on a chair next to him; her hand gently caressing his whisker-like scars on his right cheek. Her milky complexion struck opposite to his tanned skin. His breathing was slow and shallow. The wounds received to his chest had proven to be fatal in the past to many she had tended, yet this one…

"…hmm…."

A small moan escaped the injured youths' lips; while the attendant stifled a laugh at the response to her caressing his cheek. Yes, there was truly something about this young man that caught her eye. She could see that he was trained for combat, his body muscles were defined yet not overly massive; built for speed, not strength. His long locks of sun kissed hair were wild and untamed, yet those along with his three lines on each cheek gave the young man a beast-like appearance.

A second moan from the blond man made her stop and commence retracting her hand but was stopped in mid motion. The larger hand of a man grabbed to her own as her last finger had left his skin in an amazing display of speed and reflexes. She stared amazed at the man's face, noticing that the bandages around his eyes were still there. "You shouldn't exert yourself." She said when she noticed him wince in pain. "I found you on the shores of the Black Coral Sea, your wounds were one too many, deep and mortal…I thought you were done for."

A small smile formed on his lips and she didn't fail to notice the sharp canines that he sported. He indeed looked like a feral human. Her left hand was occupied being held by the strangers', yet with her right, she reached to the small night stand and poured water from a pitcher into a glass and took it. "Water," She told him.

He slowly let her hand leave his and clumsily tried to lift himself up with one arm, for his left appendage was in a sling and tied down on his chest. He grunted due to the strain and his cheeks turned a bit red with effort; but in the end, it felt like his body was made of lead and collapsed back onto the bed. How long had he been out? One day? Two? For his body to feel like that, maybe even close to a week.

"Silly boy, do you need some help?" Her voice was teasing and managed to get a small blush out of him, a bit more red tinted his cheeks than from the small bout with his honor to prop himself up without any help. With a defeated nod after another unsuccessful try, he reluctantly allowed his savior to gently slide a hand down his back and shoulders, gritting his teeth when she counted down to zero for sitting him up.

"The pain will pass, so drink up and don't spill it!" She had a playful voice as she handed him the glass of water and he painfully realized that it reminded him of someone important. "There now, feeling better?"

'…_I'll get you to a doctor soon, Suri. Please hang on for just a little bit longer…' He spoke with tears streaming uncontrollably from his eyes as he held a female body close to his own with one arm and his other held her smaller hand._

'…_I love you, Na…ruto…' The smile that adorned her features stayed in place as her body became limp, her eyes glazed over; and she released her final breath and her heart beat for the last time.._

_His eyes bled red…_

The events that happened afterwards came crashing into his mind one after another. He shook his head for a moment, trying to regain his bearings. His only hand ignored the woman's voice regarding the water and slowly touched to his neck. His vocal chords felt like they were being cut individually by scalding tongs, and he still felt the electrical shock from the technique that was used on him, searing the gaping wound upon contact. The sudden flashback of his last words with her made him want to cry, yet he couldn't. His eyes or what was left of them couldn't create tears. He abandoned the gloomy thoughts and focused on the situation at hand: he had survived and had to go back to her to pay his final respects and claim the justice they deserved; but first, he had a debt to repay.

He extended his arm towards the person who had tended him and she took the now empty glass in her hand, only to refill the glass before handing it to him once more, as he had downed the first one pretty quickly.

"My, my, you seem thirsty. Then again, I would be too if I had been bedridden for a month…"

Water sprayed everywhere in the room and the violent coughs and hacks from the blond man made the girl realize that what she said caught him off guard with her statement. She patted him gently on the back and rubbed comfortingly, easing the pain from the coughs in his throat and the ones caused onto the fresh injuries by the sudden spasms and movement. The damage had been dealt, reopening the fresh wounds to his vocal chords, causing blood to mix with the water that was being expelled from his windpipe, staining satin sheets in crimson.

It took a minute before calming down, his mind racing at the information just received before he slowly felt it. He felt that familiar sensation of the foreign, yet familiar chakra coat his vocal chords first, mending at a slow pace.

A very unusual slow pace.

He slowly turned towards the girls frame and nodded, signifying he had calmed down and wouldn't cough once again. His only working hand traveled to his head and commenced checking the extent of his injuries.

He felt that his eyes were blindfolded, he remembered that slash across his face and the losing of his eyes and of the concussions, all five of them…'_Man, those were some of the hardest fifteen minutes of my life'_…the breaking of this left arm in seven different places, all of his ribs broken, battered, _and_ bruised; his left knee in an awkward position and his right pinky toe. The PINKY TOE! That single broken bone had hurt more than the compound, multi-fragmentary arm fracture!

"…whe…where am I…" Raspy and damaged vocal chords plus strain equaled to a not very pleasant sounding voice. The pain was harsh, yet the soothing heat from the fox's chakra covered it up soon enough.

The young woman winced at the sound of the voice, yet spoke when she saw he was quietly waiting for the answer. "You are in my home, near the shores of the Black Coral Sea. This is my small getaway villa that was granted to my family by the king and queen of the land for my loyal service to the crown…"

The male nodded, dumbstruck and zoned out for a moment as she kept on talking, King…? Queen…? Crown…? He now knew he definitely wasn't anywhere near the Elemental Countries anymore. His lessons learned while in his trips with Jiraya to the oceanic borders of his home continent were drilled into him to last a lifetime. Only the shinobi nations had Shadows as village leaders and Daimyos as country leaders; whereas in a kingdom, a King would rule with a Queen as his consort. He pondered his situation for another moment before sensing that the girl's talk was coming to an end. But when he focused back it was a moment too late…

"…also my name is type of butterfly, and I had told you where I serve as a Knight-Apprentice, I'm nineteen years old. I'll describe my looks to you, because I don't think you'll be able to see once again after I saw the state of your face, is that ok…?"

He snorted at the comment, which intrigued the girl enough to let him speak his thought.

"I've been through worse. I might be able to see once...more in a week; maybe two." His voice wasn't sounding as strained as before, she noticed. "I heal quickly." He stated with a grin.

Even though he couldn't see, he knew she was giving him a strange look. I mean, who has ever heard of anyone that can heal slashed eyes without the use of medical techniques_? 'Does she even know what kind of techniques I can use?'_

"Well, anyway…" _'Considering the fracture to his skull, he must really still be out of it if he doesn't know that the extent of his eye injuries were bad enough to that we had to remove his eyes…he's just probably in denial, that has to be it…'_ Her voice sounded a bit edgy. "…I'm 5'4" and have an athletic build body, blonde hair that is tied in braid that reaches to my mid-back, blue eyes…umm…I like butterflies, riding horses, protecting the princess, and fighting for justice!" Her voice was getting more and more exited by the word. The bandaged youth came to terms that she wasn't a bad person and gave a small, hoarse chuckle. He messed up by not catching her name, but at least he got some information about her.

The cool breeze of the night blew through the open window that the moonlight was using to visit the room. Blond hair swayed in the night's gentle touch. She had closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the ocean's waves as they directed the orchestra of nature's sounds. She opened them when she heard some shifting from her patient and found herself blushing at the image in front of her. Sure she had seen her guest naked a few weeks back and to be honest, she wasn't interested in how good looking he could've been when he was bleeding from multiple weapon wounds, burn marks, bruises and God knew what else; but now the bandages that she and her servants had applied to the man were tightly wrapped around several parts of his body and it showed that he, in fact, worked out and definition was the key. The satin sheet that acted as his cover lay over his stomach, covering his lower abs and legs; but the rest of his body was bathed by the moon's silver light, giving him a soothing and angelic, yet bestial glow.

"You…" His voice broke her out of her reverie. "…you have told me of yourself…" She noticed that it wasn't as raspy anymore and most definitely not strained. This perked her interest in the man once again. Fighting her blush at the thoughts that were passing in her mind, she relayed her thought about the fully healed throat and his voice.

"Ahh, like I said before when you mentioned my eyes, I heal quickly," He lied, and he knew it, but it was for the better. He had just met the girl and didn't know what her reaction would be to him telling her about a demon that's sealed in him and heals him from his injuries. "It's something that I can't control; we call it a Bloodline Ability from where I come from; passed from father to son, mother to daughter," She nodded at his explanations and paid closer attention to the young man that spoke in front of her. "And I believe it would be fair that I told you of myself. Also, in return for your help and hospitality, I'll help you as a servant until my debt is paid to you." A smile adorned his face and a blush on hers.

"I am a spy, saboteur, scout, and assassin. I am a ninja, master of shadows, multiple martial arts, elemental manipulation, and illusions."

She remained silent at his explanation of his profession. The young female had studied of those of similar trade but in her lectures at the White Lion Academy, she had never heard of a shinobi who could manipulate the elements to his whim like the man in front of her was staking claim; and illusions…? The court's mages and astronomers were capable of such feats, but it had taken years and years of studying the mystical arts of sorcery and wizardry to obtain the knowledge necessary for said feats of magicks. Now, regarding to his claim of mastering multiple martial arts…well, with the body he has, some scars here and there, and his calloused hands leave irrefutable evidence of something. Maybe that was true.

Maybe.

"My name…or better yet, its meaning is what made me a target for many assassination attempts…Spiraling Maelstrom…but you can simply call me…"

"Uzumaki…Naruto…"

She unconsciously spoke, her voice merely a whisper. Her mind went into overdrive over the stories she had heard from many merchants near the wharf and at the ports. The tales of a young man known as the Spiraling Maelstrom from across the sea…one who was exiled from his home for a situation that wasn't his to control, he was a pariah for some and a champion of justice for others, but those were old seadog stories to keep kids entertained…weren't they?

"Oh?" an amused Naruto formed a sad smile on his face. "I can see that even my name is heard this far away from my homeland. I mean no harm to you or your people, but I will much rather take my life than get captured by the enemy."

The blonde girl snapped out of her train of thoughts. She turned to look at the saddening man in front of her. He had accomplished so much and yet his looks don't make him older than twenty! The girl slowly reached out for him and placed a small hand on his broad shoulder; a light squeeze in reassurance and she spoke soothing words. "Do not worry, Mr. Naruto. As long as you are my guest, no harm shall befall you. Even here, you are renowned as a hero by many of the merchants that deal with a country of your continent…with the country of Wave, is that correct…?"

"…yes, that's right…" A small frown marred his face when the old memories flooded his mind.

"I apologize for interrupting you, Mr. Naruto, can you please continue with what you were saying a moment ago?" Her voice sounded pleading and exited once more, Naruto noticed as he kept thinking of his situation and how he got to where he is. _'I guess she really isn't a bad girl. Other people would have run already from me and threatened to expose me to the authorities…but then again, I'm not in a place where many would know who I am by just looking at me. Now, I wonder how offended she would be when she realizes that I spaced out in the middle of her introduction and I didn't catch her name. If she's anything like Sakura…then I'd better wait until I'm better before letting her know my mistake.'_

"All right, I'll continue if you want me to."

He shifted on the bed for a moment, pulling the pillow from behind of him and placed it against the bed board. He leaned back and placed his back on it, getting support for staying sitting up. He winced through the process and politely declined the girl's help. "I'm a proud guy." was his answer to the unspoken question she had. "Now, where was I? Ah! Yes, Uzumaki Naruto, twenty year old, missing ninja; deemed S-Ranked with a 'Flee on Sight' warning in Hidden Stone Village and a 'Kill on Sight' warning in Hidden Leaf, my hometown." a frown formed on Naruto's face as he spat the name of the village who had always shunned him since he was born. "But let's not get far into details about them. I am technically a genin; but in actuality, my power exceeds normal ninja standards. I can rival one or two Shadows easily and have a hard fight with three of them…you're lost at what I'm saying…aren't you?"

All the time Naruto spoke, he sensed that she was trying to follow, yet it dawned to him that she wasn't aware of the terms that he was using. "Sorry, sir; I want to understand but I don't know some of the terms you use. Shadow? S-rank? Missing ninja? If you don't mind, can you explain?"

"I don't mind at all." He chuckled. "Sorry about that, and drop the formalities, it makes me feel older than what I am. Naruto is good enough."

She simply nodded to his remark, but his smile made her realize he was aware of her consent to his request.

"Well, as I was saying; where I come from, ninja villages are hidden in remote parts of the elemental countries. My former home, Hidden Leaf, is located in the midst of a dense forest; created by the first of the Fire Shadows…I'll explain that in a second."

She nodded

"The ninja population is divided into ranks which separate them considerably. General population and academy students have no rank, but once a young boy or girl are deemed qualified to pass the Genin Examination Test, they obtain the rank of 'Novice Ninja' or 'Genin'. After several months, or even years, if the team makes the cut for the Journeyman Ninja Tests, they can advance the ranks to 'Journeyman Ninja', or 'Chuunin'. Those are qualified to become squad leaders, people who have the lives of his fellow team members in life or death situations. They must know when to act and when to retreat or the missions could be failures. Eventually, your skill will pass the higher standards of 'chuunin' and when that happens, 'Master Ninjas' or 'Jonin' rank isn't far off. It is this rank who takes care of training the new batches of apprentices who leave the academy and are physically, mentally, and emotionally ready to become a professional assassin. Jonin instructors train the three man cell team they are assigned in their areas of expertise and raise them to be fearless weapons. High level Master Ninjas are also qualified to take on a more strenuous training regime and may make the cut for Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai, or ANBU. They are the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad that serve directly under the Shadow, and they are in charge of the most deadly jobs, some of which involve in tracking down ninjas who have gone rogue, like me!" A playful smile was plastered on Naruto's face as he mentioned the last fact. His listener was probably shocked at the mention of him being a rogue ninja, and sensed a question about to spring forth, so he interrupted her. "I'll answer all your queries truthfully when I'm done, is that feasible?"

"Uh...yeah…it's fine…"

"That was a bad joke, by the way," he chuckled for a moment before continuing. "But anyways, after the ANBU, the last rank one can obtain is 'Shadow' or 'Kage', a rank awarded only to those who have proven themselves as protectors of the village, stronger than most, wiser than all. The one who loves every single person in your home, the one who would give…who would…give…?" Naruto's voice cracked and let out a few sobs before he regained his composure. The girl reached and took his hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze of understanding.

'…_he must have been extremely hurt…it sounds like he still loves the place from were he was shunned out…'_

With a squeeze back to her hand, Naruto continued the explanation. "A Shadow is the leader of the village, and he is the one who would sacrifice himself before anyone else in order to ensure the survival of his people. It was my dream to become the Fire Shadow of Hidden Leaf, yet…the closest I got to that dream was to see my teacher reach it before me." Naruto took another sip of his newly poured glass of water and spoke the remainder of the explanation. "When a ninja goes rogue, they are assigned a rank corresponding to their threat level; which usually go from E-Rank through S to SS-Rank. E is the lowest and SS is usually reserved for very special cases, usually when it's a suicide for anyone under the A-Rank to take him without proper preparation and a very skillful team…" His voice died down as he finished the sentence.

"…so," She spoke after a moment of silence between the both of them. "The higher your abilities are, the higher is the rank you're given either when you are faithful or go rogue? It's like Knighthood, where one starts as a Serf, Squire, and then Knight!"

"I…guess…I mean I really don't know much about your ranking system, nor your combat styles or your techniques." Naruto responded.

"Well…if you could only show me your styles, I could at least tell you if they're in any way, shape or form close to mine."

"All in due time, but first…" A yawn interrupted Naruto's speech. "…how about we continue this conversation in the morning? I should be doing better by then; not by much, but at least my arm should be partly healed…or maybe my leg? My eyes were completely destroyed, so it'll take longer…" Another yawn struck and Naruto felt the weight of the world once more. The small adrenaline rush he had received by waking up in an unknown environment with a stranger finally wore off. "At least, I can share my travel tales with you, how does that so…_yawn_...sou…_yawn_…nd…?" The yawns struck again as he was finishing the sentence.

With an assertive nod and a small giggle, the girl helped him lay down and tucked him in once more. She realized, by the time his head had hit the pillow, soft snores that sounded strangely like a cat's purrs came from him. She held her giggles in once more as she left the room, whispering a 'good night' before closing the door.

_Scene Change–_

Cement tunnels filled with pipes and an ankle deep layer of water came into existence as soon as Naruto's eyes had closed. He knew where he was, all he needed to do is figure out where to go now. Every time he appeared inside the seal, if he wasn't in front of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's territory; it was a pain in the ass to navigate through the labyrinth of tunnels that was his mindscape.

Mumbling, he limped his way through the endless tunnels, most of his weight was on his right heel. The pain of his broken knee he could take, but damn! The pinky toe! Righteous retribution was exacted on the pursuer who broke it, and the damn fox was probably going to heal it last just to get back at his container for any thing and everything…or maybe just out of fun, but who cares!

Actually, he cares. A lot.

A flicker of light down the path caught Naruto's attention. He knew that familiar sight; it was near Kyuubi's area. _'I never get tired of this place…'_ He thought with a slight smile and a faster limp-walk towards the soft white glow around the corner. The light was brighter with every step he took, and slowly, it began to engulf his self. Closing his eyes as he would always, shielding his retinas from harm, he slowly sensed the change in the environment surrounding him; water became grass; stagnant sewer air smelled fresh, filled with the scents of a forest; the dripping of water droplets from the pipes became chirps and skittering from birds and squirrels. The cold environment turned warmer, with a light April rain covering the plains he stepped into. The sun peeked from between a few rain clouds, illuminating him and bathing him in a warm light.

Opening his eyes, Naruto saw who he came to visit. Looking to be around his late twenties, a red haired man was sitting with his legs crossed with his back against a tree. Long hair was unruly near his bangs and kept in a messy pony tail that could clearly reach his ankles. The 6'7" towering humanoid would easily weigh over two hundred and fifty pounds and his frame was that of an athlete, but unlike Naruto, he had more muscle mass. Several open wounds, gashes, bruises, and scars were being shown in places his clothing or armor was missing. His hands and feet had a feel as if they were claws; longer nails being purple in color. Three purple tattoos in the form of whisker stripes adorned his cheeks and one more on his chin. A fine nose and a defined jaw line gave the red head an air of nobility, but his pointy ears gave out his non-human heritage pretty easily. There was a broken awl pike that was partly covered by a red silken cloth placed next to him. His eyes were closed, but with his nose and ears twitching every few seconds, one could notice that he was aware of his surroundings.

"Hey Andalarán; you're banged up pretty bad too, huh?"

"**I've told you one time too many, Naruto, to not use my True Name so carelessly…"** The red head opened his eyes, revealing a golden iris with a black slit as a pupil. **"…unless you're in the need of something, don't use it, just called me Kyuubi."**

"Heh, well, it's not like anyone else can hear us here, can they?" A goofy grin appeared on the blonds' face, his usable arm was rubbing the back of his head.

A tick appeared on Kyuubi's forehead**. "Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, you could be talking in your sleep? I mean, yeah; just go around mentioning my name when you wish. One of these days it's going to back fire, you BUMBLING IDIOT!"** An inhuman snarl left the red headed mans' throat as he finished speaking.

"Ok! Ok! Fine, I'll be more careful!" Naruto kept limp-walking until he was standing next to Kyuubi. "But anyways, how come it's taking you too long to heal us back into shape? I mean, it's pretty cool and all that I can at least see in here, being that I created this place and control its layout and everything, but I'm still limping and my arm hurts and my ribs ache and…"

WHACK!

Naruto's face was drained from any color as the feeling of dread filled his senses. In Kyuubi's hand was a stick. Not a very thick piece of wood, but a stick nonetheless. Said piece of tree had traveled fast, VERY fast, in a 180º angle; never leaving Kyuubi's hand, mind you, and striking a tenth of an inch away from Naruto's broken pinky toe.

"…**are you done bitching, flesh bag?"**

Nodding an affirmation was the blonds' only response.

A long drawn-out sigh told Naruto that he was going to be indulged on the matter at hand, his and Kyuubi's current state of health. **"I'm low on chakra, kit; too low, actually. That last fight against the Root Squad and Akatsuki really had me going on fumes there. Me, the almighty Kyuubi, was run out of chakra by a blond idiot that used a very destructive; yet flashy technique. And though I approved of the use of the chakra, seriously…six tails? I mean, c'mon…six god-damned tails worth of chakra to fuel one single technique? Then you summon me to take care of the back-up Root Squad that was zoning in on us. On top of that, fighting in Three-Tailed Mode, I'd say even I have an excuse to be tired and not healing at the usual pace…"**

"I guess I did go a bit overboard…" A small smile was on his face; yet his eyes were staring past Kyuubi, lost in the darkness of the dense forest. The demon didn't fail to notice and proceeded to inquire over the sudden sense of longing his jailor was exuding.

"**You okay there, 'ruto? You seem spaced out."**

"What do you think we should do, Kyuubi?" Naruto spoke softly. He slowly made his way to the same tree that the fox was under, and slumped unceremoniously against it. He didn't speak much until he was fully settled, his back resting on the trunk. "Moreover, what should I do?"

"**This is about your mate, isn't it?"**

"I won't have anyone else die because of me, Fox. She died in my arms, her blood strengthening my resolve. No one will be able to bring her back, yet for her sake, I will carry on and make sure that those who caused her death; die painfully, with the same mercy they showed her…" His voice cracked, tears forming in his eyes, yet refused to run down his face. "They will pay, Kyuubi. I promise you this. So, did you catch the girl's name?" Naruto spoke, trying to change the subject.

"**Yes. Her name is…"** Kyuubi smirked, yet deep inside he was worried. His carrier was getting depressed at the memories that were resurfacing over the death of his wife. If only for a small moment, he had to at least try to cheer him up…and he figured it out.

"Good. So what is it?" Naruto broke Kyuubi's pensive pause.

"**Not saying…"** A tricksters' smile formed on Kyuubi's face. **"…you shouldn't have spaced out there, kiddo. I'm going to have fun watching you beg for your life when she realizes that you didn't pay attention to her when she was talking to you…"**

"This is no time to joke Kyuubi…"

"…" _**Smile.**_

"…you're getting me back for the time I left you as a baby fox at the hot springs, aren't you…?"

"**That and much more, 'ruto…"** Kyuubi said still smiling.

"BUT YOU ENJOYED IT! YOU HAD THE SAME LOOK AS ERO-SENNIN ON YOUR STUPID MUG!"

The smile never left Kyuubi's face; and true to what Naruto had said, he didn't have a bad time... **"It was the fact that you abandoned me there as a baby fox and not in my human shape that will cause you to suffer this time. You wanted to pull a prank at me? Well…guess who's laughing now."**

The sunny blond pouted. "Stupid fox…fine! Don't tell me. I'll ask her myself next time the opportunity arises...!" The pout turned once again to a look of longing. "…so, do you think we'll be able to go back?"

"**Only a higher power, higher than me; can answer that question, kit. If you want answers, pray to God, don't seek them from a demon like me."** Kyuubi gave him a sympathetic smile as he proceeded to slowly stand up from his position**. "Don't go back with that pathetic face, you're worrying the girl enough with the injuries you sustained. Besides, I think she likes you…"**

"You speak nonsense, fox. Anyways, I'll head back and rest, God knows I need to; chatting here with you is giving me a headache and I'm pretty sure you'd just let me suffer it for your amusement. See you later, Kyu."

"**Later, kit…"**

Naruto stood and began walking away, while shimmering out of his mindscape. Knowing he would be listened, a 'thank you, Kyuubi' was muttered before he vanished, hearing a grunt in response. The door to Kyuubi's lair closed behind him as he felt all warm and tingly once again, drifting into peaceful slumber…wait, door? And why did it felt like someone was gently scratching him in a place where he would consider it instant death to those who were of the same gender? Ah who cared! Damned fox was probably playing more tricks on him again.

_Scene Change—_

***creak* *click***

'_Good going, you oaf…he's probably awake and ready to kill with the racket you're making!' _A blonde girl was standing still, her back against the heavy wooden door; her eyes were locked onto a figure that was lying bandaged up on a bed. Her breath hitched as she saw him move his head for a moment, shifting his position; then once again laying still. Letting go of a breath she didn't know she was holding, she approached the boy slowly, trying not to make any more unnecessary disturbances in the quiet nighttime environment.

She was amazed at how the silver moonlight played on his tanned skin and golden locks as she closed the distance between them, but she focused her thoughts once more. There was a theory that needed to be proven, and backing out was out of the question! Even if he was awake, she had to at least try!

The sounds of her feet on the wooden floor were unnoticed by the bed's occupant. Her hand reached slowly, her breath hitched, small beads of sweat formed on her brow, the tip of her tongue was caught between pearly whites.

A scowl formed on Naruto's face as her digits were about to graze his skin. '_Was I caught? Is he awake? Is he going to become upset at me?'_ Many questions flooded her mind, and she braced for whatever punishment might come, yet he remained still. His facial features flashed with anger and sadness, and she felt compelled to help. Her fingers brushed against his skin, fingertips gently gliding over his whisker-like scars…

"…hmm…"

The look of frustration on his semblance melted slowly into peacefulness once more. Her lips crept upwards slightly, and letting out a long, drawn out sigh; her nervousness melting away instantly. For the rest of the night, she remained there; a curious glint in her eyes and a small smile on her face, watching and gently stroking the whisker marks that made the boy she rescued 'purr'.

"…definitely blackmail material…" She whispered.

Prologue - End

_A/N:_

_Prologue – Spell Checked, Grammar Checked, and Slightly Modified._

_Don't have a Beta, so if you find any mistakes, let me know, and I'll fix it. Thanks._

_**Please Read and Review.**_

_-seilif._


	2. One

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Final Fantasy.

– **Chapter 1 –** The Sights and Sounds of Introductions.

***crack***

The sound of bone breaking roused the sleeping girl from her dreams. Immediately springing up from where she was laying down, she snapped her eyes open, giving them a couple of seconds to adjust to the light coming in from the bedroom window.

A sharp intake of air caused her to focus on the blurry figure at the other side of the room and rubbed her eyes to hasten the adjustment. It took only a couple more seconds and she was surprised at what she saw.

Naruto sat at the corner of the bedroom; the bandages that were tightly holding his maimed arm to his chest, rested on the wooden boards next to him in a bundle. His right hand was glowing in an eerie red flame, as it gently cradled his broken left appendage. The girl noticed a small trail of blood flowing from where his lip was caught between the sharp canines he had, quite possibly in an act to distract him from the pain of his useless arm.

As she was about to inquire to his patient on the nature of his actions, another sickening sound of bone cleanly snapping in half halted her train of thought instantly. Her heart began racing as she was trying to not think of what she was looking at as her hands immediately covered her mouth, holding back a cry.

Naruto's red hand moved quick and true to another point of his arm. She recognized the affected area from she and another person had tried setting the bone correctly when they found him, but the swelling of the muscle and ligaments didn't permit this until a week ago. Naturally the bone had begun healing incorrectly and they were scared of damaging his arm in a worse manner if they were to break it once more where the seven injuries were.

More blood traveled down Naruto's chin and dripped onto his white linen shirt. A grunt signaled his pain and a few sharp intakes of air made her scramble off the bed she was on…bed? Didn't she fall asleep on the chair? Her brain clicked at the thought of waking up on the resting place her charge was originally asleep in, though she decided it wasn't the important subject at this moment. She scurried the few feet to where the blond was as he moved his head upwards in her direction, greeting her with a cheeky smile. Wet spots were seen underneath the bandages that covered his eyes, signaling that tears formed and had been soaked up.

Mouthing a 'morning', he wiped his chin with the back of his right hand, and then proceeded to strike again right below his shoulder socket. This time, he couldn't hold back the gasp of pain and tears spilt while he whimpered because of his actions; the cotton strips not being able to absorb the amount of water he was crying. But that didn't stop him. He struck his wrist. Then again close to his elbow. Finally, he struck at his forearm.

The girl was awestruck. She watched in muted horror as he straightened his hand and struck his appendage in several chopping motions, effectively breaking the bone. On top of that, all of this was done without crying in pain; only the gasps and the tears were the indications that he was feeling anything.

A small whimper finally escaped his throat, as he rocked in position for a moment. The tears stopped soon after, and then he simply breathed his pain away.

The room was silent and stayed that way for quite some time. She could hear her heart pounding a mile a minute, and was grateful of her charge when he finally broke the tense atmosphere.

"I guess you weren't expecting this sight first thing in the morning, right?" Spoke the injured young man, lower lip once again between his teeth.

Blood trickled down his chin, which he in turn wiped with the back of his balled up free hand; white knuckles clearly contrasting the crimson red stains of his living essence. Before she could even understand how, she was by his side kneeling and inspecting what had just happened.

After a scant few seconds of quickly scanning over the superficial wounds; her left hand cupped his stained fist while her right hovered closely over the damaged appendage. She closed her eyes and began praying to someone called 'Saint Glabados' about Naruto's injuries.

"Don't be upset or worried, I'll be fine now." He spoke softly to her as she finished her prayers. "This had to be done; otherwise I'd never recover and would have to retire from being a ninja." Blood stained his teeth as he gave her a gentle smile.

She slowly turned from his wounds and looked at his smiling face. _'Oaf…yes…that name does befit him.'_ "You were in bed for a month; your wounds were almost healed, yet poorly set. We could do nothing because of the swelling and no help other than me and my attendant. I can understand why you'd want to do this, but even if you do put yourself through all of this suffering again, your bones could have alrea-"

"GAAH!" She was cut off as his breath hitched and grabbed her hand tightly with his own. His facial expression turned into pain in an instance. "H-here it c-c-comes…it's usually very…very painf-ARGH!" The scratching sounds of bone on bone were heard in erratic pulses coming from underneath his tender arm. Naruto's mouth was open wide, screaming silently over the white hot flashes that ran up and down his arm and shoulder.

She, on the other hand; was terrified and didn't want to look away from the writhing arm that began exuding a red aura. The sound of bone grinding against each other was enough to make her shiver.

Little did she know, the broken skeletal pieces were moving on their own underneath his tender skin and muscle, searching for the correct position; like the pieces of a puzzle that was slowly reaching its completion. She assumed there was a particularly painful spasm because his grip on her hand increased for a moment; and he let out a silent scream. The blonde girl shut her eyes tightly, bringing his head rest at the crook of her neck. She could feel his erratic breathing on her skin, his tears travelling down her back, and a dramatic increase of his body temperature throughout this self-imposed healing session of his.

Not really knowing what to do, our heroine simply held his good hand, not caring on how hard he was gripping it, while her other slowly rubbed circles on his back, trying to ease his pain as she whispered soothing words to the non-responsive Naruto.

He on the other hand, started sweating heavily, as his core temperature increased. The spasms came more and more frequently, but his mind had already shut down from the intense pain.

"Did…you all…feel that?" a tired voice spoke amongst six seated robed humans. Several grunts and gasps were heard amongst them, answering the first voice's question.

The six were located inside a large, circular chamber; its walls were none existent, showing the blue sky and white clouds that were drifting slowly into and around the open room. The ceiling was suspended by unseen forces, given away by the ever-so-slight bounce of an inch or so relatively often.

A magnificent purple velvet carpet was underneath a majestically carved oaken table, surrounded by seven chairs of the same wood; each with a different symbol carved upon its back and different colored velvet cushions for the backrest, seat, and arm rests.

One of the room's occupants, dressed in white robes with red triangular lining around the edges; reached out with a feminine hand, grasping a staff that was next to the seat she sat on and struck the floor her next to where her chair rested. A crystal orb the size of an ox's head manifested itself into existence, floating above them all, and slowly lowering itself onto the table which they were all seated around of.

A woman dressed in red attire that consisted a one piece sleeveless dress that reached down to her mid thighs, a much darker colored tabard covered over her mini dress, over her shoulders, a red cloak with white runes on the edges, black boots, and a red cap with a white feather stood slowly and faced the floating orb.

She snapped her gloved fingers, sending a small spark of white energy to the crystal sphere and upon contact; images filled the room of a bandaged young man drenched in cold sweat, with a mop of golden hair, being soothed by a young blonde woman.

"What do you make of this, Rosa?" the spark igniter turned to ask the one who summoned the orb.

Rosa was seated upon a white velvet-cushioned chair, which had a tribal representation of wind currents covering the majority of a cross. She pulled down her white cloak, revealing platinum blond, wavy hair; fair skin, and blue eyes that flashed white for an instant as she inspected the scrying that was being done at the moment. Her orbs widened slightly at what she was trying to comprehend. "It appears…as though he's using some sort of violent energy source and channeling it to heal his own wounds…but it's too aggressive...you can see it too, Maria?"

"Yes." answered a woman clad in dark blue, almost black knee length skirt, tube top of the same color, and wearing a stylish pointy hat that shadowed her eyes. Her seat was adorned with black velvet, and had a rod with a glowing eyes and wings sprouting on the side, carved on the chair's backside.

Leaning on the table, and cradling her head between her hands, she continued speaking. "What he's doing, is what I can't. Ever tried converting the destructive force of the elements into raw healing energies? How he can wield Black Magic and twist it to mend his own body is something beyond imagination…" and a grin appeared on her face, her eyes flashed red for a moment underneath the shadows of her brimmed hat. "He's an interesting specimen, that's what he is. I want to observe him more."

"I couldn't have said it any better…" commented the blonde. The other four mages stayed their tongues. It was something unprecedented what they were witnessing through the scrying spell; they had much to ponder individually, and then in council with each other.

"I…I think it's over…" one exhausted Naruto wheezed out after finally regaining his speech capabilities. For the better part of an hour, the spasms and red energy that was coursing up and down his arm kept him on a constant state of perpetual pain. If it weren't for the fact that he knew he was getting healed through all that, he would believe it was torture of the worst possible kind. He looked at the girl for a moment, before slowly attempting to stand up.

His feet were wobbly, yet he did not fall; and made his way towards the counter. He proceeded to pour himself a tall glass of water and downing it before speaking again.

'_What…what was that? Ajora be merciful! I have never seen nor experienced something like that in my life!'_ the girl looked at the hobbling figure of a man that painfully removed himself from her embrace to collect some water for his parched throat. _'For someone to fix their arm this way…? Just who is the Maelstrom? What else can he do?'_

"Thanks…and now…where were we?" he asked, interrupting her train of thought. She in turn, had just been through the biggest scare of her life. _'There is nothing written about what had just happened here, no known techniques that could do such a thing. Even the Sacred Healers couldn't fix a bone that was settled incorrectly. Mending in such a way was unheard of!'_

"Ah, yes…I remember." His remark made her focus once more on the broken man in front of her. "You had some questions…yesterday, which arose while I was explaining some things?"

The girl's eyes widened for a moment before furring her brow. _'How am I supposed to remember those kinds of things after seeing what he's done and what happened to him…ah, right…'_ "You had mentioned yesterday that your village was inside a forest that was created by one man? It must have taken him centuries to build a forest that could be dense enough to act as a defense!"

"Hmm…I guess it would be kind of impossible…" Naruto thought out loud. His good hand went to scratch a spot on his head, as the girl had a puzzled look on her face. "Ahhh!" he exclaimed suddenly, startling his caretaker.

"I have no idea how to prove to you that trees can be nurtured to maturity in a matter of minutes, being how I don't have an affinity for Tree Element, but I guess I can show you…yes?" Naruto stopped his rant as he felt a slight poke on his shoulder.

"Umm, affinity? Tree Element? You have to explain to me some things still so I can understand."

Naruto's hand smacked his own forehead as he realized she had no idea about his terms… "Yes, sorry! Sorry, let me explain. Where I come from, shinobi; i.e. ninja, have affinities in the energies we use to channel our techniques. The most common affinities are Water, Fire, Wind, Earth, and Lightning, with rare occurrences of many others. That's where the name of our continent comes from, the Elemental Nations. The division of the continent comes from where the affinities are more concentrated. Fire Country, for example…"

"Is where there is a more concentrated amount of people with the Fire Affinity?" she completed the sentence for him.

"You took the words out of my mouth. Yes, that is correct. But just because we're in Fire Country, it doesn't mean we all have a fire affinity. It isn't rare for there to be people with other affinities in each country."

She nodded in understanding. "It's like going east from here; the farther you go, the darker the skin, hair, and eyes is for the people that live there, but you still see many from the west that inhabit the place and have light colored features."

Naruto nodded in agreement to her statement. "That's exactly right. But there are occasions where someone will have or develop a variant affinity, which is very rare. The Founding Father of the Leaf, Hashirama Senju, had one of such abilities; to control the growth rate of trees by using the power of the earth itself. His affinity for the Tree Release, or Mokuton affinity, has not been seen naturally anywhere in the elemental countries since his death."

The listening blonde paid attention to Naruto's explanation. '_His culture is completely different, yet similar…just like the court mages…Red, Green, White, Blue, Violet, Grey, and Black, each one has their own area of expertise…Blue and Violet being extremely rare amongst them.'_

"But now, for a more practical demonstration of affinities…"

Extending his only good arm in front of him with his palm facing upwards, a glowing sphere formed within a few seconds. The girl was too enthralled on the floating blue orb of spiraling energy that had manifested over her charges' hand to notice the strained look on Naruto's face.

"So pretty…" she said in awe.

"Please don't touch it." Naruto grunted, obviously sensing the girls' hand extending to touch the Rasengan. "Even at this point, it's a highly destructive technique. I would feel terrible if you came to harm due to not informing you of the dangers of my abilities."

Said girl had a flustered face at being caught with her intentions. _'But, how could he know, being blind?'_ "Ok, I won't touch it. So, is this sphere an affinity of yours?" she asked quizzically.

"Ah, no, it's simply a way for me to demonstrate my own affinities easily. At this moment, I can't really show you my full potential…but for now, pay attention."

Naruto's face once more contorted due to the strain he was forcing on his chakra system. The Rasengan however, started taking a greenish tint to its spirals, and slowly began to flatten out with four sharp-looking blades that formed from the center of the sphere.

"This…is an example of Wind Manipulation. Only those with high enough affinity to their element can apply it to the sphere I formed originally…and this…" the blades receded back to the sphere, and the green sphere slowly turned a deep, royal blue. A single small protrusion appeared on the center, and slowly the sphere took a slight conical shape. "…is an example of a high affinity to water."

"Wow…this is unbelievable! Is…is this magic?" She asked with her eyes glued to the blue spiraling cone that was now slowly dissipating. Naruto simply reduced the flow of chakra slowly, to avoid a sudden discharge and violent repercussions.

"No." he answered. "Shinobi from the Elemental Countries use chakra, a combination of physical and spiritual energies, to channel our techniques. It is most definitely not magic, but I have fought someone in the past that used strange incantations and devices to use seal-less techniques that mimic our own. Now, he made it look like magic. Also, anyone can do what I do, as long as he or she trains long and hard for their skills."

"Really?" she asked? Her mind racing with the possibility of learning how to do the pretty spiraling sphere that Naruto had demonstrated a moment ago. _'Let's not get over my head with this wild imagination. He said he trained for years, and I still am a Knight before a Ninja. I don't know how I would feel without having a suit of armor to protect me…' _"Well, I do have to say that your abilities are very impressive. But enough of this; as intriguing as I find your techniques to be, I need to address your newly fractured arm. You must be in pain for re-breaking and re-setting it by yourself."

"Just a little bit..." he said with a grin.

Naruto painfully made his way to the bed, where he slowly took a seat at the edge of the mattress. The girl, in turn, picked up the discarded bandages and moved the chair that was next to her patients' bed in order to be able to have an easier time to bandaging the arm. She carefully began dressing his appendage with the balms and oils she had originally used to reduce the swelling, as they were still on one of the dressers for quick access during the month he was out of commission; so she applied them to his newly broken arm, and then re-bandaged the limb.

All the while, the moment Naruto felt her hands carefully applying the sharp smelling oils and balms, he stiffened at her contact. The pain was not the cause, but the way her hands felt against his skin. _'Her hands…just like Suri's…Suri…I'm sorry…'_

The images of Uzumaki Suri, his now deceased wife at the hands of the rogue Danzo and his Root ninjas came back in full force. Having met her in the Land of Waves, daughter of an Inn owner after he was exiled from his village, she changed his world and re-ignited his dying soul. Her angelic smile would light up his world when he would come home from the most stressful of missions; her chocolate eyes, eyes that would convey a love so deep with just a simple look in his direction, or scorn her non-paying inn customers easily; her delicate hands, smaller than his, yet powerful enough to fell the tallest of racketeers and troublemakers in her establishment if she so desired, and her love for him…the love that kept him sane throughout long term missions, knowing that he had someone to go back to in his home, in the Land of Waves.

'_You're my world, Naruto-kun…'_

'_Naruto! Come back to me safe and sound!'_

'_Naruto! I made you Ramen!'_

'_Naruto? Do you mind showing our guests their rooms? Thanks, dear.'_

_'Aww, do you really mean that? That you love me more than ramen, Naruto-kun?'_

'…_I love you, Na…ruto…'_

'…_Naruto…'_

"Naruto! Are you ok? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

The worried look on the girls face went unnoticed by the Jinchuuriki, but the tone of her voice gave him notice on how she must be feeling and also brought him back from the beautiful yet dreadful memories and events that transpired over a month prior to this moment. Naruto assumed his face was showing the emotions of the memories of his lost wife. It was then he felt the recent moistness of the tears that clung to the cloth that was over his eyes.

"No…to be honest, I'm not…" he spoke, his voice cracking for a moment, but regaining his composure. He took a moment of silence, calming himself down. She gave him time to mull things over, standing by his side. "…but…" he spoke once more. "…I will physically get better within a week's time. Once my eyesight is back, I'll need to find a place to train where I won't be disturbed…"

She slapped his cheek at his statement. "You won't ever see again! You must come to terms about this! You're eyes were destroyed completely without possibility of regeneration; we even had to remove the dying tissue from inside in order to prevent it from infecting the rest of your muscles, bones, and nerves! Even the highest of the White Order would not be able to give you back the gift of sight! Quit deny-!"

Naruto tore off the bandages and padding that covered his scarred eyes. He opened his eyelids, and to her surprise, there were two milky-white orbs where his empty sockets had been. Her knees failed, and fell to the ground, shivering with fear. Never before had she seen anything like thi. "H-how? T-that's n-not p-p-possi-ble…with-without the intervention of th-the White Order…"

He closed his eyelids once more, and felt the familiar soothing chakra of the nine-tailed tenant seep slowly and in small amounts to his eyes. "If told by someone other than me, I have a right to kill the one who spoke the secret, and the one who learnt it; but I can reveal the information without causing any harm to those who learn the truth."

He sighed, then took a deep breath and spoke again. "…I am a host to a powerful entity, a warrior who wields a powerful Awl Pike, and each thrust can level mountains and cause tsunamis…" He extended his hand to her, beckoning to stand up. Wearily, she took hold and allowed herself to be pulled up next to him. Naruto in turn, took her left hand and formed her hand into a half ram seal, and before she could say anything, he took his hand and completed the seal, channeling chakra through his and her hand. The warm feeling that she received at the energy that coursed between them both made her loose track of what was happening, until he spoke once more.

"Lord of Foxes, Trickster Supreme…" He switched the position of his fingers to become perpendicular with the girls'. A puff of smoke appeared next to the two that startled the young woman; breaking the seal she was unknowingly forming. She noticed that it was Naruto, or more specifically, a Naruto that had no visible injuries, no bandages, no swelling on his arm, and most the beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. She blushed for a moment, and the clone noticed her and winked at her due to the pink cheeks, which in turn made her blush even more.

She covered her face and looked away from the two identical figures that stood in the room, and continued listening to what the original had to say. "…within me, is the most powerful elemental demon in existence; the Kyuubi no Kitsune!" Naruto immediately took his thumb to his mouth, and bit hard to draw blood. In turn, the clone took the vital sacrifice and ran through some seals and calling out "Summoning Technique!"

Silence was prominent amongst the magi; all of them sported a somber look upon their features. If it weren't for the wind that would pass through the floating, open air chamber, a needle would be heard, plinking on the stone floor.

"What he has been doing all this time we've been scrying upon them both…" Spoke a man robed in grey, breaking the deafening silence. He was seated on a chair with grey velvet padding, and the carving of a sand clock spilling its sand from the bottom to the top. "…was ninjutsu, ninja magic; yet to channel his power as a Caller…?"

"No one in our kingdom and the surrounding nations can achieve that feat!" exclaimed the one with a green cloak and a beret of the same color. Her pair of rabbit ears twitched as she was explaining her points. Her hand pointed to the orb they were using to scry on both teens. "The Spiraling Maelstrom is someone to be feared alright." She huffed as she settled once more on her green velvet seat; it had the depiction of a stave that glowed in a warm light. Leaning back, and attempting to stop the twitching of her ears by calming down, she spoke again. "The spirits are restless…especially in the presence of that man who he called forth from another plane…"

"And to create a physical clone of himself…!" Maria exclaimed. "I've only seen the illusions of the Royal Assassins, using them as distractions while they hide in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He is one to look out for in case of him trying to stir chaos in our nation." She bit her lip as her eyes scanned the now four people in the bedchamber. "The blonde is powerful in his own…but the Called One…his power in immeasurable…" her teeth abandoned her lip as her nervousness turned into a mischievous smile for the second time in the day. "I really want to meet this man…"

The others nodded at Maria's comment. They all agreed to what she was saying, but no one had dared to express it outright.

"We will wait for Grand Summoner Rydia to come back from her excursion, and then we will convene and speak of the matters at hand. I'm sure a Caller of this potential, along with his use of the Black Arts and ability to convert them into White Arts is something we all would like to research on." The man in grey spoke once more in his tired voice. He proceeded to stand up, his cowl falling back revealing full dark hair pulled back into a pony tail at the base of his head. His skin was tanned, and a chinstrap beard helps frame his face. His dark brown eyes seem glazed over, like a tired old man reminiscing the past. "Who knows?" He said as he looked back into the scrying orb. "Maybe he will surprise us more than what he already has."

"I couldn't agree with you more, Olan…" spoke the rabbit-eared mage. "Once Rydia comes back, we'll have to summon the boy. Even though I don't like it, I personally would want to find out his true potential. Spirits know only how far he can go…"

The remaining five nodded in agreement

The sudden intrusion of her own personal space when she felt another body very close to her own amongst the billowing smoke cloud, made the blonde girl recoil back with a small yelp of surprise, sending her tumbling into the arms of the cloned boy she had helped nurse. He caught her lithe frame easily, and assured her that smoke would happen on occasion with certain techniques he knew.

"**Ahhh, thank you for letting me out and stretch my limbs, 'ruto."** was the baritone voice of the newcomer.

As the smoke was carried outside the room by the open windows and the wind that coursed through it, the Kyuubi got a good look at the girl who was still in her sleeping garments. He immediately turned around and spoke. **"I believe that my host forgot his manners. I do not think I should have been summoned here with your current attire. I apologize for any inconveniences this may cause, Lady Agrias."**

Chapter One – End

_A/N:_

_Chapter One – Spell Checked, Grammar Checked, and Slightly Modified._

_Don't have a Beta, so if you find any mistakes, let me know, and I'll fix it. Thanks._

_**Please Read and Review.**_

_-seilif._


	3. Two

Disclaimer – I do not own Naruto

**Chapter 2 –** Knockin' on Heaven's Door

_Three Weeks Later_

"Where did you learn our tongue, Naruto? You have a rough accent and some of your grammatical structures are old." Was the first question that she asked him when they sat down at the edges of the grass, burrowing their toes in the sand.

"Many years ago, my deceased master taught me this foreign tongue. Gave me books and scriptures and told me to practice it, that it might come in handy some day…I guess the old man knew what he was talking about, eh?"

They spent a few more moments in comfortable silence before Agrias spoke once more. "Tell me your story, Naruto. How is it that you became who you are today…?"

_Scene Break—_

Since the day he had summoned Kyuubi in order to introduce him to Agrias, Naruto had been feeling better and better. The combination of healing balms, oils, herbs and his tenant's chakra; his recovery was faster than he expected. By the third day of being fully conscious, he had regained his sight, but still had a broken body. Agrias stopped by everyday after returning from the Knight Academy to talk to her new friend. And all through the two weeks of rest, Naruto wandered around the estate.

Throughout the first week where Naruto's body mended itself back together, he became friends quickly with most of the staff members of the villa, met several of the delivery workers that brought the groceries from town to the property, most of the groundskeepers, and explored the grounds in search of a good place to train when his body was up for it. During those days, many were wondering how a man that had suffered an extent of injuries such as his could be walking around the grounds with a smile on his face. He always offered to lend a hand with whatever duties he came across, claiming that it's a debt to Lady Agrias.

Many of the staff members refused due to his state of body, but eventually they started giving way to his requests; and slowly, by the second week, he was acting as if he himself were a member of the estate's staff and worked for Agrias.

Said blonde, on the other hand, was constantly observing her charge when he was around the estate, helping out in whatever he could. Agrias noticed immediately that the productivity of her people and the overall working environment improved; everyone was smiling more often, people were being friendlier, chores were being completed at a faster pace, and it was all due to the man she had helped rescue. And now, she was well aware that he would be leaving to train. She didn't want for that to happen; for Agrias was enjoying her free time with him, learning about his culture, his language, abilities, and life in general.

By the end of the second week, Naruto was fully healed; a miracle in everyone's eyes. The day he got out of bed and began running around the villa, helping every single person, laughing, cheering on, and simply being himself brought happiness to everyone's eyes. He was like that for a full week, only disappearing at times to come back dirtied and sweaty, but with a smile plastered on his face.

Agrias picked up his tongue pretty easily, but she was still far from being able to hold a conversation with anyone. She had caught a glimpse of what he could do a while back, but seeing the physical clones help around the house was always astonishing to her, and her help's eyes.

It wasn't until the twenty first day of him regaining consciousness and living in the estate that Agrias asked Naruto to walk with her, accompanying the villa's owner to the beach, where their conversation was taking place.

Naruto's story touched her heart and she felt a full spectrum of emotions run through her being as the story progressed; even if she sensed he was omitting detains from it. She was filled with awe, when the Fourth Fire Shadow sealed Kyuubi into his own son; to rage, when she learned Naruto had more assassination attempts in one year than the last three Kings in all of his lifetime. She felt his happiness when he told her how he managed to stop the renegade Fire Shadow, a man named Danzo, from usurping the village by leading all the ninjas of Hidden Leaf in a rebellion against the power hungry despot. He was driven out and eventually the Fire Daimyo learned of Danzo's plans of controlling the leader of Fire Country with a powerful illusion that would have made him his puppet; and pride when the Daimyo elected Hatake Kakashi, his master and the original nominee, as the Seventh Fire Shadow of Hidden Leaf…but when he got to the part about returning home to the Land of Waves...

It was here that Naruto had stopped telling his story. He had excused himself as he walked to the shores of the Black Coral Sea, claiming he needed to take a walk to clear his head; and in a politely manner refused to continue telling what happened before he was found.

He left three days ago and no one in the estate had heard of him since.

And this is where our story continues…

_Scene Break—_

Agrias awoke on the fourth day after Naruto disappeared. Since he left, everyone that had chores around the house were feeling sluggish, and didn't feel like smiling; and she was starting to believe that it was affecting her too. She no longer had a reason to hurry home from the Academy, and felt more detached to from it than ever before.

Deciding to not get out of bed for another few minutes or so, her mind began wondering back to the blonde that disappeared from her life as quick as he had appeared in it.

"**Who would have thought that with Naruto's leaving, the villa would be affected this much?"** her voice came deep and rich, and then she let out a long drawn out sigh.

'_Wait a minute…deep? Rich? My voice doesn't sound like that? Who…?'_

Her head snapped to the window of her bedroom, only to notice the sun's rays being obstructed by the silhouette of a figure that was casting the shadows into her bedchambers.

"**I would recommend for you to dress into something less impersonal, Lady Agrias, for I assume you would like to know 'Ruto's whereabouts."**

That voice. She knew that voice. "Lord Kyuubi?" Is that really you?"

The silhouette bowed**. "Indeed it is, madam. I requested from Naruto to release me in order to stretch my limbs for a while. He hasn't the slightest idea that this is where I am at the moment."**

Agrias wasted no time in jumping out of bed and making way towards the large dresser where she kept her training equipment. She came out with a white frilled shirt and a string tie that tucked into brown leather pants with extra padding on the knees, and a pair of black leather boots that reached to mid calf. Her hair was done hastily in a single braid with some strands of hair falling off to the side, framing her face.

"You may come in, Lord Kyuubi." She called the demon lord in. "And if you please, I would like to know what he is doing and where he is. The estate hasn't been quite the same since he left; for it was a breath of fresh air to the routines that we all must do on a day-by-day basis."

"**Let us go to the parlor, if possible. I haven't had a good cup of tea in over a year."** He opened the door, and bowed to Agrias as she walked by. She, in turn, bid him to raise his head.

"You know well the manners to treat nobility, but I can assure you, please don't worry about simple things with me…"

Kyuubi nodded and raised his head, still keeping the door open for the girl. **"After you…"** he said.

She walked through the open portal and led the way to the sitting room. The maids and servants of the household were a bit unnerved at seeing a strange man in the house, though he held an air of nobility about him; but when Agrias mentioned that he was here to inform her and whoever wished about the missing blonde's whereabouts, the villa became abuzz with excitement; refreshments were promptly served for the guest and mistress, which included several different kinds of teas, finger foods, and desserts: cakes, and cookies.

A few of the staff members requested permission to listen to what the regal man was to inform her mistress, to which she agreed. All the while, Kyuubi was savoring the exotic teas and finger foods; and cleared his throat once everyone was ready to listen.

Setting his cup aside on the coffee table, he began.

"**You lost your parents recently, is this correct?"** The staff tensed for a moment. They knew that it was a hard subject to approach, having lost Master and Mistress Oaks naught a little over a year ago. Agrias' shoulders stiffened, but nodded to his question**. "Then it's best that I mention to you that you can relate to what Naruto is going through."**

Closing his eyes and leaning back into his chair, Kyuubi let out a tired sigh as he pressed the fingers of his right hand onto the bridge of his nose. **"Naruto knows a pain similar to you, a pain that is hard to overcome…" ** He slowly placed his arms on the chairs' armrest, and opened his eyes once more; conveying a deep sadness to all that was watching him intently**. "Naruto held his wife as she passed away, murdered by the order of the rogue ninja, Danzo."**

_Flashback—_

_The tall plume of smoke that rose over the treetops was a bad omen for Naruto. Ever since he left the Land of Fire and was making way to the Land of Waves, he had a deep feeling in his gut that something wasn't right. He made haste to his new home, an inn he built alongside Tazuna and Inari, and the rest of the villagers of Wave._

_But all he saw when he reached his destination, were flames and ash; Wave had been razed to the ground._

_The village streets were littered with bodies, either dead or dying. Cries for help and pleas Kami were mumbled, yelled, or softly spoken; the violent fires cackling with glee. Hundreds of clones were summoned, and each already knew what to do. Search for survivors. Help the wounded. Search for a survivor, a specific survivor. _

'_Suri-chan…Kami, please let her be alive.'_

_Several clones came back to his location, informing him of unfortunate mercy kills to Inari and several other villagers. Tsunami and Tazuna were no where to be found, but there were several clones that were removing debris from all over the village, searching for more wounded and dead._

_A sudden image of a ninja striking down one of his clones made him snap out of his daze. He recognized the mask. The Root ANBU that had caused this…this…massacre were still around, not having had enough time to retreat. He immediately sent a mental command to all of his clones to surround them and not let them escape until he got there._

_It wasn't but a moment until he got to the location where the Root members were being surrounded; a cliff that overlooked the ocean. He landed in the middle of the clearing, and noticed four masked individuals, cloaked in black; one of them was carrying a body in a large burlap sack._

"_I only know of a former Root member who actually cared for his teammates, and I can assure you he's not here. Why did you attack the village, and who are you carrying?" Naruto spoke with fury in his voice. _

_He stepped forward and the four Root members stepped closer to the edge, only to find that the pebbles and bushes in the area were Shadow Clones transformed like the environment. As they realized they had no hope for escape, the ninja carrying the bundle dropped it between the four and they all stabbed it at the same time._

_Naruto's world turned red as he heard the voice inside the sack scream in pain._

_He was instantaneously in front of the closest member to him, ripping the man's throat out with the swipe of his claws. The man choked to death on his own blood, his last vision was of a furious, blood-seeking container shrouded in red chakra._

_Kyuubi's chakra disrupted Naruto's control over his own, causing his clones do dissipate harmlessly; so the Root ninja took that as an opportunity to jump towards the ocean; to try and make an escape, and return to headquarters._

_The jailer of the nine tails rushed to the now moaning body, bloody tissue still dangling from his nails. He ripped the burlap container easily and his tailed shroud dissolved at what he saw._

_Flashback End—_

"**His wife was in the burlap sack; bound and broken under some sort of illusion that ended when she was stabbed by the four ninjas…Suri was being taken hostage, to force Naruto to exchange his life for hers. Danzo knew Naruto would take the trade…he would do anything for those he loved…"**

The staff was shocked and in tears with Kyuubi's telling of what Naruto had gone through. Agrias, especially, was moved, sobbing almost uncontrollably by that point. Kyuubi took another sip of his now lukewarm tea.

"**What happened next was what caused Naruto to suffer all those wounds. It was our mistake to have left those three ninja escape. The bloodlust caused by the death of my surrogate daughter in law, made me crazy with rage and blinded me and my host to an incredible degree…"**

Kyuubi snapped his finger and a blue flame floated on his index digit. He dropped it into the tea, which regained the steamy temperature at which he usually drank it. Taking a sip, he looked at the calming faces of his listeners.

"**We caught up to them, but they had reinforcements…"**

_Flashback—_

"_Do not think that you will win by numbers. I swear on my name and on my wife's grave, that I will make you suffer ten times what you did to the Land of Wave; and to the three that killed my wife…you will beg me to kill you when I'm done with your miserable selves."_

_Naruto stood on the ocean water; he was surrounded by at least fifty ANBU members under the command of Danzo; the root symbol visible on the clasps that held their cloaks on them. His shroud expanded a bit, sending a pulse of chakra dispelling any illusions that were in the area. That revealed an additional ten Root Captains that were waiting for the opportune moment to strike._

_With their cover blown, the command to attack was issued, and several members of Root sprung at the blonde container, prepared to die under order._

_His hands were fast. There were a total of six hand seals, one unknown to many due to its nature of being used only to summon foxes, and with his back pressed to Naruto's, the Kyuubi itself stood in his human form, his chakra imposing tremendous pressure on those who surrounded them._

_The attackers stopped, and retreated for a moment; waiting for new commands with the sudden turn of events._

"_Kyuubi…you have three tails worth of power. Get the reinforcement troop that is coming from the village. Go all out. Destroy them, make them suffer…for me and for Suri." Naruto's voice was rasp, thick, murderous, and cracking in pain all at the same time._

"_**You don't have to ask me twice, 'Ruto. I just hope you aren't planning anything crazy with the rest of my power."**__ He solemnly spoke, as he summoned his awl pike to his side__**. "Are you going to summon them also?"**_

_A small nod and the tightening of his jaw was all Kyuubi saw, so he prepared himself, for five more hand seals were done by his surrogate son, and two toads appeared over each of Naruto's' shoulders. They looked at their charge, with wonder in their eyes. "Naruto, you know we can't fuse…" spoke Pa first. "The Kyuubi rejects us."_

_"Kyuubi will not interfere with the fusion, Pa, Ma; I can assure you."_

"_How can you be so sure?" asked Shima._

"_Because the man behind us is the Kyuubi…"_

_Both toad sages snapped their heads to see the red-headed man with royal facial features, pointed ears, purple markings, claws on hands and feet, as well as the fangs that he displayed with a feral smile. "Wha…what is the meaning of this, Naruto?"_

_Flashback End—_

"**Since the battle for Hidden Leaf and the death of a man named Pain, Naruto had not spoken to the Toad Elders. Too much had been happening, and he simply forgot to inform them about our amicable stance with each other. That and he didn't want the world to know that the Nine Tailed Demon Fox had adopted a human as his heir, don't you think?"**

Kyuubi let out a booming laugh at his explanation. The staff members and Agrias herself were a bit taken aback. They didn't understand what he meant by the 'Nine-Tailed Demon Fox', but then again, he was explaining.

It took a moment or two for Kyuubi to turn his attention back to the humans before him before he cleared his voice once more**. "I would like to explain something to you all, but it cannot be done under this roof. It would be a bit…constraining, if I may."** And with a mischievous grin, he stood up and went to the estate's entrance. He motioned for everyone to follow him, which they did. As he reached the door, he turned around to face the small crowd following him**. "What you are to see, only you will see it."**

And with that, he opened the door and began to glow a warm reddish-orange.

As he passed the wooden frame, his clothes began merging with his body, which in turn began growing exponentially. Agrias and her attendants were all frozen in place at what was happening to the red-headed noble.

Slowly, the Kyuubi shifted back to his original form, the enormous red furred fox with nine tails. His human-like hands cracked their knuckles as he sat down on his hind legs. The fox then straightened himself and became extremely professional.

"**This…"** He spoke, his voice now thunderous to those who were mere mortals in his presence**. "…is my true form, the form that is forever locked within Naruto. I am The Nine Tails. I am the Lord of Demons, and Naruto and his wife were my heirs, that is, until Suri passed away."**

Everyone was speechless. A few of the maids fell to the floor in shock, their knees giving away at the incredulous sight before them. Agrias, on the other hand, had moved forwards; already knowing about him from Naruto's story, and carefully touched the large, furry paw inquisitively. Kyuubi in turn, approached one of his tails and poked her, which made her giggle. Agrias returned to mind the group and began to help the maids who had lost the strength to stand up. One of the servants had passed out unconscious on the ground outside the estate, but soon, they all realized that no one other than themselves were aware of the gigantic demonic-looking fox that stood to the entrance of the house. In fact, when one of the groundskeepers asked the small group what they were all gawking at when he rounded the corner of the house, they looked at him strangely. He left shortly afterwards when he received no active response from anyone there, and hearing a giggle come from Lady Agrias.

All the while, Kyuubi looked amusingly to the results, before cracking his neck, and shifting down to his humanoid shape**. "As I had mentioned before…"** he addressed the humans when he finished his shifting. **"…what you were to see, only you would see it. I am the reason that Naruto was hated when he was a child, and I am the reason why the Toad Sages went wary as they saw me outside the seal."** Walking to the house once more, he picked up the maid who had fainted and took her inside. **"We can continue this with some more tea, perhaps?" he spoke with a cheeky grin plastered on his face.**

_Flashback—_

"_Ma, Pa, I won't have time to gather the Natural Energies to enter Sage Mode, so I need for you to do it for me. Kyuubi will not interfere in the merge now, and he will also help us buying time for what I'm going to attempt."_

"_What are we attempting, boy?" asked Fukusaku as both elders ran through the seals needed to perform the Sage Art: Amphibian Technique required to fuse with Naruto. The container's eyebrows twitched and he looked back to the cliff's summit. With a simple grunt, Kyuubi looked up in the direction his summoner was observing and grinned._

"_**I'll buy you time against the backup squad, 'Ruto. You do what you have to do."**__ Kyuubi said before he struck out suddenly; his weapon began spinning above his head as he appeared between a group of clustered Root members that were perched on the cliff__**. "COME AT ME, PUNY MORTALS! OR DO YOU COWER AT MY PRESCENCE THAT YOU SACRIFICE YOUR LIFE TO THE KING OF DEMONS!"**__ His war-cry snapped several of the ninja's attention back to the situation at hand, but not before three fell to the mighty blows and slashes received by the nine tail's weapon. _

"_**Is this the best you can offer?"**__ He taunted. _

_And all hell broke loose._

_Back with Naruto, he began explaining to his elders what his plan entailed._

"_What I'm going to try, Ma, Pa, is something never done before by any other Toad Sage, on the basis that they simply couldn't do it; I will use Kyuubi's Demonic Energy to enhance Sage Mode. I did it once, against Pain, the real Pain, but I don't remember how to do so. And at this moment, I have to ask for your help to enter Sage Mode..." His eyes burned with unshed tears as he kept speaking. "…please help me…they…they killed her…" Both toads went silent as they merged with Naruto's being. In a moment, the blond's body began storing the Natural Energy. "Danzo had the village in the Land of Waves razed to the ground. There were few survivors, every building was destroyed; Danzo killed my wife and my friends. __**He. Will. Pay**__." Another few hand seals later, there was a messenger toad in front of Naruto. "Gamashin, I want you to report with the Fire Shadow, Hatake Kakashi, of what is taking place in Land of Waves. Tell him that Danzo has destroyed Tazuna's Village, and has killed my wife; and lastly, I want you to bare witness of what will happen to those who harm my precious people." He finished saying as he closed his eyes, and forming the ram seal once more._

"_You got it, Naruto! Toad Art: Cloud Essence!" And by activating his technique, the messenger toad evaporated like water and rose to the heavens, forming a small cloud high above the battle over the ocean._

"_And now…" He snapped his eyes open, Sage Mode activated. "Ma, Pa. You've done enough. I don't know what will happen next, but I don't want you hurt by this. Release, this is my fight."_

_Both elders sighed in understanding, and each patted Naruto on the head. "Be careful, Tadpole, all us toads want you to grow stronger than what you are. We want to see your full potential, so don't you lose here, ok?" spoke Shima, as she released her technique and returned to Mt. Myōbokuzan. Fukusaku waited for another moment before breaking the Amphibian Technique and jumped down to Naruto's feet, staring him square in his eyes. "You listen to Ma, ok? And Naruto…" _

_Naruto smiled at Jiraya's and his own master's words before he puffed back to his home, and with his conviction cemented, he focused his eyes onto the battle that was taking place all around him._

'_We are very proud of you, young toad. Now, win for those who lost their lives in Wave.'_

_Scene Change—_

_Kyuubi was handling the Root cronies pretty easily, but the commanders were in the back, preparing for something. Something big…_

_Making a dozen Shadow Clones, Naruto set a perimeter around him, to protect him until he completed what he was planning. But as the clones came to existence, the commanders attacked._

_Now, twenty (or what was left of them) against a three-tailed beast equivalent Nine Tailed fox is usually overkill (or that's what the Demon King felt), but Kyuubi was taking his time and enjoyed the bloodlust he was building with each dead Root member he felled with his weapon. He would on occasion bring the weapon's head close to lick the fresh blood and pick off pieces of meat caught on the folds between the axe head and the metal spearhead, and place it in his mouth, savoring the taste of human flesh. This in turn would unnerve the attackers._

_All in all, the Kyuubi was having fun. That is, until he felt extremely nauseated._

_He shrugged off the Illusion, but it was enough time to receive a deep gash to his lower abdomen. Kyuubi struck the ANBU member down easily, and commanded his chakra to heal his wounded side. _

_The demon was impressed. Usually, he could shrug off any illusion sent his direction, so for something to have affected him so, there must be someone skilled hidden amongst the backup. Now, that caused him to smile._

_With renewed vigor, the Lord of Foxes continued his massacre of the backup unit, plowing his way; searching for the one who could give him more than a few seconds of fun._

_Meanwhile, with Naruto - _

_His clones were fairing decently. With enough Sage chakra pumping in them, they actually could last for a few hits each. The blond himself was channeling chakra all through his body, combining the Spiritual, Physical, Natural, and Demonic energies together into a uniform mix. A moment later, images of a clone being decapitated entered his mind, only to receive a crushing blow to the back of his head._

_Naruto held on with his hands in the Ram seal, chakra swirling all around his body. His mind felt muddled, he knew that the blow to his head had given him a concussion, but he forced himself to ignore it, and keep moving on with the plan._

_Another blow struck his chest, and felt a few ribs crack under the strength of the bludgeoning strike. All around him, he could feel the clones dissipating, he could sense the approaching Root members; their swords drawn…back first? They were going for non-lethal blows? _

'_What are they planning?' he thought._

_Several strikes to his left arm made him cringe and tighten his jaw in pain. Even with his body being reinforced by the sage chakra, he still felt his appendage crack in three different places._

_With a yell, he channeled more power to himself and with a violent cry; he pushed the attackers back with a giant shockwave that raised mighty waves from his position. The brief reprieve gave him a moment to collect his thoughts, but it apparently wasn't enough time to complete what he was doing._

_Through the giant walls of water that were moving away from his position, erupted several thrown weapons that were aimed in his direction. Being unable to move was an advantage. He gathered more Natural energy into himself, reinforcing his Sage Mode; and with the chakra that surrounded his being, along with the sage mode; he caused the deadly projectiles to simply cause scratches on his body. Naruto felt his face form a smirk as he sensed a small retreat from his attackers, letting the waves calm down._

_Then he felt a stinging sensation on his face, then something warm, with a coppery scent fell from his eyes; and he screamed._

_Back with Andalarán - _

_The Beast felt a strong sense of anxiousness and pain come from Naruto, and became cautious when he heard his defenseless cry. With a quick thrusting motion, he impaled the one man who had managed to distract him with an extremely powerful illusion moments ago. It turns out that he had spent all of his chakra on a single opportunity to distract the demon long enough for the other Root members to off him._

_He hadn't expected the demon to break free within a second of the illusion being in effect._

_With a quick snap of his arm, the lifeless body hit the ground, and Andalarán turned around to witness something he thought Naruto and himself would never have to face again._

_In front of a defenseless blond stood someone with a black cloak with red clouds as its motif. Said someone had clearly slashed Naruto across the face, effectively blinding him, if the trail of blood would give the location of his wounds._

_Kyuubi immediately jumped from the cliff and landed exactly where the person was standing, and turned to face him head on, menacingly pointing his pike at him._

"_**I thought we had gotten rid of the last of you several years ago, Akatsuki scum. You came here for petty revenge for Naruto ruining your plans?" **__the demonic humanoid asked mockingly. Although he felt pretty sure about this fight, he wasn't sure about how Naruto was fairing. There was a lot of blood coming from his face, and from the glance he got, he was certain his summoner was officially blinded, both eyes slashed out._

_He did have to give it to Naruto. He let out a single cry of pain to get his attention, then not another sound came from his person._

"_It seems that you were mistaken then, Nine Tails." a mocking male voice came from underneath the cloak. "Next time you and the container finish off the last one of us, make sure that we aren't immortal first."_

_The male pulled back his cloak to reveal Hidan, one of the Immortal Akatsuki members. He was reported to be immobilized in the Nara Compound forests, but apparently someone dug him out._

"_Hihihihihahahahaha! In all the time I was underneath those rocks, I had much time to meditate! And Lord Jashin spoke to me directly! He wants your blood, Nine Tails! I care not for the life of your container…but maybe you do?" the immortal's voice became crazier and crazier as he spoke. Even his laughter seemed psychotic. _

_Hidan's foot struck the water and a large spike of clay and sand erupted underneath Naruto and Kyuubi; who in turn reacted in time to move himself and his charge away from the sudden protrusion that came from the ocean's floor._

_Kyuubi landed several feet away, and saw the rocky spike sliced with what seemed to be a three-bladed scythe, and made into a platform to stand on, to which Hidan promptly landed onto; his body already in his ritualistic appearance, and blood already flowing from a self-inflicted wound onto the platform. He wasted no time in forming the circle. Kyuubi struck out the Akatsuki member as he was finishing the bloody symbol on the ground, to which Hidan laughed, and Naruto cried out in pain._

"_Gyahahahah! More! MORE! SCREAM FOR ME, BLONDIE!" Hidan blocked the demon's strike with his left arm, and he felt it snap in two separate places. Kyuubi snapped his head back to Naruto, and saw his arm break in the exact same place where Hidan's had._

_Taking his metal rod, Hidan struck at his own rib cage, breaking several of his own bones, and laughed again while hearing Naruto's pain. Kyuubi, on the other hand, was wary about striking down his target._

"_KYUUBI!"_

_Naruto's pained yell cleared the demon lord's mind, and hardened his resolve. __**"I'm sorry, kit…"**__ was his only words to the blond as he moved at high speeds, and appeared in front of the immortal; striking him hard with a roundhouse kick to the head._

_Naruto felt the kick and his mind went hazy once more. 'That's…ano..ther…concussssss…sion…fuck..."_

_Meanwhile, Kyuubi began using Hidan as a mop, dumping him into the ocean and pulling him out in quick, painful jabs and thrusts of his weapon. All the while, the human rag kept laughing hysterically. "HahahaHAHAHA! LorD JasHIN wiLl hAVe YouR HeAD! HAHA! HAHAHAHA!"_

"_**I grow tired of you…"**__ Kyuubi spoke. __**"…I'll make sure you die this time, pest."**_

_With a hard pull, the pike came loose from Hidan's stomach, and immediately appeared next to the man's neck, severing it from the body; which promptly sank to the ocean's floor. Kyuubi caught the head easily, his hand fully covering the decapitated man's face. He didn't hold back in digging his nails into the scalp and skin_

"_yOU tHInk ThAT WilL sTop ME? HahahAHAHAHA! I hAve BeEN blESSed bY LoRD JAShiN HimSeLf! HAHAHA!"_

"_**Forever silent, that is what you will be…"**__ Kyuubi spoke with a solemn voice and a serious look on his face as a dark red glow that emanated from the demon's hands began sizzling and eventually, blistering Hidan's skin. After a moment, his hand began to glow a dark, blood red that shone majestically against the waves of the ocean. __**"Begone! And may the underworld prove a torment to your soul; feel the fire waters of the underworld, **__**Summoning: Pyriphlegethon.**__**"**_

_As the liquid fire burst through Hidan's face and into his cranial cavity, burning his brain; he for the first time experienced true, unadulterated pain; the kind that he had never felt after joining the Jashinism movement in the Elemental Nations. And for the first time in his immortal life, he screamed in pain, screamed in fear that he would die, and that his Lord Jashin, would not save him. _

_At that same moment - _

_Naruto was not fairing as well as he thought he would be. After Kyuubi broke the spell between him and Hidan, he meant to create some Shadow Clones to protect him, but between the second concussion and the broken bones, it was starting to take its toll. Only a couple came out, and it wasn't enough. An instant later, he saw the images of a headless body dressed in Akatsuki garb land once more in the blood circle and proceeded to activate the technique once more. _

_Unfortunately after he saw the third and last clone dissipate, he felt a blade of electricity plunge into his throat, severing and cauterizing his vocal chords, preventing him from yelling out, and shocking him to no end, disrupting his control for a moment. _

_As the pain in his throat became more acute, he felt his arm break in two other places, the rest of his ribs break cleanly off, and hot white pain all over his body. Three more physical blows to his head made him black out, his body swayed for a moment, then plunged to the ocean waters._

_Flashback End—_

"**It took me a moment to realize what had happened…"** Kyuubi told his listeners.

At this point, they were wide-eyed, slack-jawed at the telling of the battle. Sorcery in the manners that he was describing was reserved only to the highest of Mage Courts within the Kingdoms of Ivalice. But after what they had seen a few hours ago…they could believe what they were being told.

Agrias had been the first to edge him on to continue his story, but she did so in a meek and barely audible. It seemed that she was thinking hard about everything she was told throughout the day; he sun was now setting, the orange and red tinted sky glowing with a final farewell, making way for the moon and stars.

"…**but unfortunately, I can't remember anything past him activating the most destructive technique I have ever seen a human use in all my life, bar the Sage of Six Paths."**

_Flashback—_

_He could hear the beating of his heart slowing down; he knew he wasn't breathing at this point, but he was frantically trying to keep a grasp of his surroundings. He was sinking into the ocean. He had sustained massive injuries for trying to complete a technique he had never attempted. And now, he was dying because of it._

'_I will not die. Not here…not by them…they took her away from me…they killed my friends…I WILL NOT DIE!' His body reacted on his own; his only good arm reached to the heavens, trying to grasp that which he didn't know was there._

_And someone reached back._

_A slender hand appeared in front of the blond, and slowly caressed his cheek. He felt the warmth of the touch on his skin and he slowly touched the back of the appendage. The water that surrounded him began boiling with intensity. The energies that coursed through his being took control of his senses, making Naruto completely aware of everything._

_Everything._

_Every life form in the sea that was swimming away from the area, every seagull that was frantically trying to leave the location and every animal that was running away with fear because of what was going on. He could see them clearly, he could find every detail on them, but he didn't care. _

_The image of his dead wife and friends flashed before his mind's eye; and with his thought pattern back in track, he lifted his right arm and he felt the world stop at his command._

_Flashback End—_

"**It's honestly the first time I've ever been scared by the kid."** commented the Demon Lord **"I never knew that by combining the four energies, he would be able to open a path to Enlightenment."**

He stopped for a moment as he took another sip of an exquisite Lavender/Chamomile blend tea**. "He did what was thought impossible at one time; something that is sought out by monks and hermits in our continent for decades; he opened the third eye, combined the energies, and for an instant…"** a shudder struck the regal red-head as he remembered the full extent of the power displayed**. "…he touched the Creator, and the Creator acknowledged his plea."**

The light of the sun died down and the pale glow of the moon bathed the parlor. One of the workers began making his way to the fireplace, to ignite and warm the room for the night.

Kyuubi became extremely quiet as he silently stood up and walked to the window, staring at the never-ending horizon**. "He has been training these past few days, trying to reach the same state he achieved during that fight, but he hasn't been able to. Something must have triggered the ascension, but he hasn't told me much, other than the word Brahmin."**

The Fox turned around to the staff and to Agrias before he gave a small smile**. "We got here by sheer luck. As soon as Naruto did whatever he did, I awoke over some debris that was floating over a boiling ocean. I could not see land anywhere other than to this coast. Neither he nor I can explain how we got this far away from the Elemental Countries, but I did what I needed to do to keep him alive, I dragged his body to shore with the last of my energies, and dismissed myself into his seal, to help stabilize his body until anyone would find and tend him, and for that, I am eternally grateful."** He bowed deeply at his expression. **"Thank you for nursing him back to health; and also, do not worry about him. He will be back, for he made a promise to you and to himself to pay you back for taking care of him. Give him a day or two more…he's usually extremely stubborn about his training regiment."**

He lifted his head and then turned back to the window and propped it open; letting the cool ocean breeze enter the house. **"I'll be taking my leave, but I'll be back; or more than likely, we'll be back." **

Kyuubi stepped on the window frame, and with a burst of smoke, he was no longer in the room.

'_Naruto…' _

Agrias' mind was running a mile a minute. She spent all day speaking to the man who she had met a few weeks back regarding how much the young man had suffered in silence for the last month. She didn't know if Lord Kyuubi had the authority to tell her all that had happened to her former charge, but now she couldn't wait to see him again.

A trail of tears trailed down her fair skin, as she lay down on a bed that wasn't her own. She wrapped herself in the sheets that held Naruto a few weeks ago, and silently cried herself to sleep; her thought being only about the blond man.

Naruto sat with one leg over the roof of the villa and the other was bent close to his chest. His right arm was draped over his knee, and his left arm provided support to him, as he leaned back and he had his eyes closed, enjoying the salty breeze; dressed in black shinobi slacks and long sleeved shirt. He also sported a black vest with extra pockets for scrolls and a black and dark orange bandanna to keep his hair out of his eyes. Naruto carried no Hidden Village insignia anywhere on his person that was visible.

"Did really you have to tell them everything, Kyuubi?"

Truth be told, he had already returned, and had planned surprising the villa's inhabitants by showing up in the morning, but as he was sneaking into the home that evening, he wasn't expecting for a broken Agrias weeping in the bed that had been offered to him for over a month. He was torn and didn't know what to do.

"**Yes, kit. I had to."**

Letting a long, drawn-out sigh, Naruto stood up and shook the dust off his rear. "Alright, let's deal with this in the morning, ok?" With a nod, Kyuubi unsummoned himself and reentered the seal. Naruto then proceeded to walk slowly to the bedroom window where a blonde girl had fell asleep, tear stains running across her face and dampening the pillows beneath her head. Using chakra to cling to the roof and walls, he silently entered the room and made way to the other end, where he took the floor as a welcoming bed, and relaxed himself into a dreamless sleep after whispering a _'Good night, princess.'_

Chapter Two – End

_A/N:_

_Chapter Two – Spell Checked, Grammar Checked, and Slightly Modified._

_Don't have a Beta, so if you find any mistakes, let me know, and I'll fix it. Thanks._

_**Please Read and Review.**_

_-seilif._


	4. Three

Disclaimer – I do not own Naruto.

I will have to say, even though I didn't get that many reviews in for that last chapter, to the ones that did review and bothered to answer back my inquiries; I greatly appreciate it. Because of your honest words, **InfinityAtmo** and **RE5 Forever**; here's a new chapter, two days later.

Also, Merry: Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza to everyone out there.

– **Chapter 3 –** Friends or Foes?

Grand Summoner Rydia had finally returned from The Summit of High Callers; a political assembly that reinforced the relations between Callers and the beasts that fought for them. As the appointed Grand Summoner, the jade-haired, pearly skin maiden Rydia was the head of all the mages in her order, and thusly had to attend as the liaison between them and the beasts that answer to their call.

She was fully briefed upon her return about the matters at hand; although she already had felt an unknown being brought into existence several times in the past month, and was now highly interested in the blond man and his companion.

For the past two weeks, they had scryed the boy and were impressed…no, amazed by his training methods. It was simply unbelievable the amount of physical copies he could make of himself and the high amount of dedication that he placed unto improving himself was astounding….but then, the man with fiery hair came to existence on the last day of the second week of the second month, and Rydia trembled at the strength of the presence he emanated. Verre, the Green Mage, recoiled when she felt the disturbance caused in the spirits in the area; whereas Maria licked her lips at the power he exuded.

Silence reigned within the chambers of the Council of Seven. The monitoring of the blond and his actions led them to learn of the climactic fight that had eventually brought him to the continent of Ivalice, and it further explained the powerful energies that emanated from the east that had originally forced them to convene in order to prepare for the worse.

The silence lasted for quite a while, as the mages simply observed the quiet conversation between the summoner and the summoned one on the roof of the villa. It wasn't until the man known as Kyuubi unsummoned himself at Naruto's command that uproar happened amongst the mages.

"Did you see that?" exclaimed the mage dressed in red. Throwing the hunter's hat that topped her head, the platinum blonde motioned to the orb once more. "He's aware we were scrying!" Her hand waved in front of the orb, and the images repeated themselves in a slower manner.

"There! Right there!" her finger pointed to the scrying tool.

Lo and behold, while Naruto wasn't looking at Kyuubi when they spoke to each other; in Kyuubi's nod they could see that he turned his eyes to where the scrying was taking place. The tiniest twitch in his lips made it all too clear.

They were _allowed_ to listen in.

"No one has ever detected my scrying! To think that we have someone in the land who can do so…"

"Calm down, Celes" Olan's tired voice spoke "He is one of great power. According to the retelling of how they both arrived, Kyuubi was the one who dragged the boy onto shore. He could've been aware of our power and possibly thought of this happening ever since he was nearing the coast…"

"His presence as a summon is incredible; there's a possibility that even the High Summons could have trouble taking him on one-on-one, though if multiple attack at the same time, he might be brought down…but still," Rydia commented "I don't want either of them as an enemy." she spoke the last part almost as a whisper, yet it was heard by everyone in the wall-less room.

"And I can assure you that everyone here agrees with you, Rydia." responded Celes. The red mage turned back to the now still frame of the red-headed male that was staring intently with slitted pupils at the seven mages in the room. Her left thumb reached her mouth, to where her teeth bit her nail – a nervous habit she developed, only appearing when presented with a real challenge…and this was a true challenge before her.

"Strago, do you have anything you want to add before we plan the course of actions?" asked Gray Mage Olan.

All eyes turned to the man garbed in a blue robe, who had his bare feet on the table and pushing his chair back, balancing it with the back legs. His white hair was styled in a sort of mohawk and his large bushy eyebrows and white moustache complemented his beard. Grinning, he turned to the rest of the mages in the room and dropped his feet of the table, letting the massive chair fall forwards to its stable position with a resounding 'boom', a clear display on how heavy the piece of furniture really is.

He stood up as he walked next to Olan and patted him on the back.

"Oh…I dun' tink dere's much t' add, m' boy…odder dat I be itchin' fer a gud brawl wit dem two young'uns!"

Snorts and chuckles broke throughout the rooms as the tension that circled around them all was broken by the simple words of the Blue Mage. Everyone sported a smile or a grin of some sort, and quieted down just enough for Olan to clear his throat and began speaking in an authoritative voice. "Then so be it. Let the Council convene and decide on the manners to approach the summoner and his summon."

And as Olan waved his hand, the other six mages closed their eyes as the surrounding light was engulfed by darkness, sound was drowned by silence; and all that remained were seven figures standing in a dark and soundless room.

One by one, each opened their eyes, displaying different colored energies in them; and in a blink of an eye, they were gone.

_Scene Change—_

Heavy banging caused a blonde to stir in a foreign bed. She heard muffled voices on the other side of the door, but made no move to open it up, simply sitting up and letting her hair shield her face from the rays of light that intruded into the room.

"Mistress! Mistress Agrias! Please open the door! You are pressed in time to reach the Knight Academy! And remember your appointment with Princess Ovelia!"

_'Ovelia…might as well get up. It would be extremely disrespectful if I were late with her royal highness.'_ "I'm up, I'm up." mumbled the blonde as she edged to the bed and made haste to the locked door. "Let us hurry…"

As the door creaked open, coming eye to eye with mainly the maids who were present last night at the retelling of Naruto's life by his summon. "I apologize for being so late, but there were things weighing on my mind…as I can see, there are still weighing on yours…"

Signs of unrest, bags under their eyes, tear streaks on their cheeks, and disappointment; made it all too clear to Agrias that she wasn't the only one with a restless sleep the previous night, for the help that stood in front of her displayed the same symptoms as herself; for in the month they had taken care of him, nursed him back to health, talked to him, learned from him…they felt as if their heart had been torn when he left, and the pain became almost unbearable when the Demon Lord had explained to her and her staff the hardships that he had to live through his life; although Agrias seemed to have taken the story the hardest over everyone that had been present.

Stepping into the hallway, Agrias took one last look at the now empty room before mouthing a _'goodbye'_ and a _'please come back'_ before silently closing the door and making her way to her room to clean herself up and make the appointments and events she had planned for the day.

_Scene Change—_

"So, any objections on what will be done and how it shall take place?" silence reigned in the darkened room where seven cloaked figures stood. Taking that as the answer to the questions, the tired voice once more spoke.

"Then so be it. Let the trial begin. And do remember to not underestimate them…"

And with that, one of the cloaked figures' eyes flashed with green energy and disappeared from the room.

_Scene Change—_

**"You've heard what I wanted to tell you; now, do you have any questions, Naruto?"**

The blond male sat upon a rock in the middle of the ocean as Kyuubi stood by his side, standing on the water as if it were solid ground, speaking to him, explaining what he believed would cause them some unwanted attention and unnecessary violence. All the while, Naruto sat still, Sage Mode activated, scanning all the living beings beneath him, counting them, extending his senses farther and farther; slowly but surely also extending the duration in which he could be channeling the natural energies.

"I hear you, A., but I don't understand what you're trying to say." he said with a calm voice. "You said we were being watched, observed, ever since we stepped foot in this continent and they were noticed by you when you entered the waters of the Black Coral Sea, dragging me to shore, but with the extent of out injuries, you couldn't inform me until today. But…why do we need to fight again? For what cause? For whose?"

Naruto opened his eyes. The telling marks of a sage clear on his face and pupils. All the while, his serene face never changed, he simply pondered what he had been told.

**"It is how they will weigh our value to this land, 'ruto. We will have to fight sometime sooner or later so be ready for the trial by combat. Remember, both you and I hold great power within us, they will approach us and test our allegiance…if any…to the one who nursed you back to health. In the laws of this continent, you are technically, her slave until your debt is absolved."**

Naruto 'hmmmed' at Andalarán's explanation, his expression never changing, save for a slight twitch of the corner of his lips. "Kyu, I believe we begin now. I'll take care of things, and will ask for your physical assistance when pressed to…or would you rather do otherwise?" He said with a small smirk. Kyuubi simply grinned and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The summoner sat still in silent scrutiny of the solemn silhouette that skimmed the sea's surface in front of the sinking sun. (A/N: 12-Hit combo Alliteration!) Said cloaked figure had manifested itself a few feet behind Kyuubi, but both he and Naruto had detected the presence approaching a moment or two before it had made an appearance

"Well?" asked Naruto. "Why are you so far away? Take a seat with me; I don't want you to get tired." He said as he patted the rather large stone he sat on, as he scooted over to the edge, his feet uncrossed themselves from underneath him, one dipping into the ocean's cold water, the other propped up against his chest.

Adjusting his eyes a bit more, he made out that the figure was cloaked in a green made of high quality material. The fact that he didn't sense any chakra coming from said individual, and it simply stood on the water made him realize he wouldn't be tested by ninjas, or any chakra-using being.

The silhouette stood still for a few more minutes, but then began moving forward; not walking, simply floating over the crashing waves, the hood covered the person's face. Naruto never flinched nor showed a sign of nervousness as the figure approached him and slowly took a seat next to him.

"I assume you know why I am here…" a sweet female voice spoke calmly.

Naruto simply nodded at the figure. He had taken note on the height of the woman that had walked to him and sat where he had offered. She was tall. Compared to everyone that he knew from the elemental nations, she was two, to possibly three heads taller than the average ninja; around the same size as the former Akatsuki, Kisame; except her frame was lithe, not muscular.

"…then I would like to ask you something." She said as she took hold of her cloak and removed the covers from her head, revealing to our blond hero her rabbit-like facial features on a tanned, slightly furry skin. Her long ears were down and tied to the back of her head, woven into a dark green ponytail that reached her shoulders. Her eyes were a golden yellow.

"What do you plan to do in Ivalice, Maelstrom?"

Taken aback for a moment due to the looks of the female next to him and her calling him by his alias; he quickly regained his composure and turned to view the sunset. "I owe Lady Agrias Oaks a debt of Life. She saved me, and by default my ally, Lord Kyuubi…." he spoke with practiced ease. "I will make sure her enemies fall. I will always protect her from the shadows from this day forth until my debt to her is settled…" he extended his arm to the setting sun before him, fingers wide open. "…my arm is her blade, my body her shield, my techniques her own…." closing his fist at the sun, Naruto slowly turned to the green mage. "May I ask you a question, miss?"

"You may." So far, Verre had been contemplating what he had said. In all honesty, she felt he was being sincere, but sensed that he wasn't completely at ease with his statements. There was something else bothering him, and she might find out what it is now.

"What right did you all have to eavesdrop on the private conversation my friend held with the people he chose to speak it to?" a slight undertone of anger was laced to his words. Verre detected them immediately and fell completely silent, understanding that he wasn't done talking.

"Kyuubi had my permission to speak my story to them, the people who took care of me when I was dying on the shores of your continent, and as powerful as he is, he can't comprehend the nature of your abilities, so he wasn't able to prevent you all from interfering, but he was aware…now, I can sense you and the energy that courses through you. I know that you are extremely nervous of Kyuubi…am I right?"

Verre's breath hitched in her throat at the mention of the man Naruto called his friend.

Naruto let out a long, drawn-out sigh as he relaxed his posture and leaned back on the rock, using his elbows as a means to prop himself up so he could still be able to see the sun. His other foot dipped into the cold waters, and finally released his Sage Mode.

"Listen; Kyuubi told me that you all might be planning something, and to be honest, I don't like to be kept in the dark about things that are related to me in any way, especially when it might endanger my own life; so let me ask you one last thing."

The green robed mage simply nodded.

"You know that I lost everything…" his voice turned unnaturally quiet. "My village, my…my wife…the only thing that I have left for me is this life that was returned to me by Agrias and the clothes that I have on me. I was hurt, deeply, both physically and emotionally. What I went through could drive a man to do things he would have never expected himself to do…" with another sigh, he turned from the almost drowned sun to the mage who stared intently at him. "I don't care for whatever you have planned…I'll do whatever you want me to do…just…"

Naruto's voice broke, and she could see tears form in his eyes. It took a moment, but they started to flow freely, and the blond boy silently wept. Verre once more contemplated what he was saying and respected his mourning with a nod.

It wasn't for a few more minutes when Naruto was able to form words again. He addressed the Viera once more. "All I want…is for a few more days…just allow me three more days to mourn the deaths of my loved ones."

Verre inspected the visage of the broken young man who sat weeping next to her, and stood up in one graceful movement, her feet never touching the waters of the ocean. "I believe our conversation has come to an end." she said. "We have no business here with you anymore, but I would like to extend a request on behalf of the Council…"

Taking Naruto's silence as the signal to continue, Verre spoke once more.

"We witnessed your rough ways of channeling the different energies in this world, and were impressed on how you can freely interchange them from the different properties we all specialize, into something completely opposite of what they're intended to do."

She cleared her throat before continuing her speech.

"The Council wishes to learn how to convert the destructive forces that you channel into healing arts. This request comes from the White and Black Order. The High Summoner wishes to speak with your friend, Kyuubi, as you've called him, on behalf of the Order of Summoners. The Blue Order simply wants to have a match with both of you, whereas the Red, Green, and Grey Order wish to be at peace and not have you as an enemy. We are all aware of your exploits, Maelstrom; we just were not aware of your story. All we wish to do is talk."

Finishing her explanation, she waited with gaited breath the response of the young man that held power enough to shake the foundations of Ivalice if he so wanted to. It was but a moment later when he gave her a simple nod, indicating that he agreed to meet with the council.

Floating over the sea, the Green Mage moved away from the rock, heading towards shore. "My name is Verre; Lusj Verre. I am the Head of the Green Order. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, and I will be extending the invitation to visit us as you asked of me, in three days time." And with that, as her body began floating higher and higher, Naruto saw Verre phase out of existence.

The young Toad Sage moved his arms to the back of his head, effectively laying down on the rock. The cooling sea breeze colder now without the suns' warming rays, revealed Naruto's hot breath, as white puffs every time he exhaled. His eyes were closed, yet his senses were extended. Gathering the natural energy of his surroundings, the blond entered Sage Mode once more. "Do you think it's a trap?" he asked seemingly to no one.

Kyuubi emerged from the waters, stepping onto the rock, he and his clothes completely dry. **"I think we should go and listen to what they have to say; but I will tell you this, I don't know how long it will take, and Agrias is still depressed. I think she fell for you, kit. Hard."**

"Well, I can't help that, Kyu. I just lost Suri. I can't believe she's gone. I still love her with all my heart, so I can't do anything about someone else having fallen for me." His voice sounded aggressive, yet Kyuubi knew better.

_**'The kit is hurting. Who knows when he'll be able to get out of this depression?'**_** "Look, 'ruto. I know it's hard, but at this moment, there's a girl that's crying her eyes out because of your story. She knows you lost a wife, yet she cares for you. It doesn't mean that you have to respond her feelings. Just talk to her and tell her that you're not ready to commit to anything. I'm sure she'll understand."**

"Whatever, Kyu; now come on. We have to get ready for tomorrow."

**"What's happening tomorrow? More training, I assume?"** asked the Demon Lord.

Naruto opened his Sage eyes and smiled sadly at his adopted uncle figure he learned to get along with a few years ago. "You are correct, there is more training to do and I need to see if I can enter into the Brahmin stage of energy gathering once more. But before that, we need to cleanse early in the morning, for we prepare the funeral rites for the victims in the Village of Waves, and for Suri."

**"So be it, Naruto." **_**'You need to snap out of it, kit. I'll have to try and get you out of your depression in any way I can.'**_** "Race you to the campsite, Kit."**

"You're on, Fox."

The summoner and summon disappeared from the rock in a burst of speed, heading deep into the forest where they had set up camp the past few days, ready to collect some additional items left there the night before they had returned to the villa for Kyuubi's telling of Naruto's story. The race ended in a couple of minutes, with a bit of verbal abuse from one to the other.

**"Cheater…"**

The mood during the race changed from solemn to exciting to fun, with Kyuubi trying to work Naruto's sour mood out of him with whatever way he could. Apparently, hurling a handful of wild blackberries was enough of a distraction to get the blonds' trickster persona out from whatever shell it was hiding under.

"Hey, I wasn't the one who didn't specify the rules of the race. There wasn't a 'No Technique' clause anywhere in your 'Race you to the campsite, Kit' phrase you made, so now the boar flank is mine!" exclaimed the excited ninja.

**"EXCUSE ME!"** the shocked, booming voice of the Demon Lord resounded deep into the woods, scaring the wildlife senseless, scattering them from the epicenter of the racket. All the while, Naruto laughed and jumped away from a swipe from the Fox's enhanced clawed hands, as he made way with the piece of boar he had claimed for himself. **"YOU'D BETTER SHARE THAT, FLESHBAG!"**

"Make me, you mangy mutt!"

**"I'M A VULPINE YOU PATHETIC MORTAL! YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT INSULT DEARLY!"**

The booming voices and laughter coming from deep in the forest had nothing to do with the rousing of the sleeping villagers, not adding to their nervousness for the better part of the night; nor the stampede of wild animals that were trying to leave the accursed woods as soon as they could; nor the fact that the laughter and yelling disturbed the farm animals and pets.

Nope. It definitely didn't add to the legends of the Laughing/Cursing Forest in Southern Ivalice that will be passed on from generation to generation of farmers and workers in the area.

_Scene Change—_

"Mistress Agrias…" came a soft voice from across the closed oaken door. "It is time to rise up and fulfill the appointments for this day."

It had been almost a week since Naruto had left, and Agrias felt like her heart had been torn. Every night, she would think of Naruto; and every night, pain filled her heart. It was similar to what she felt when her parents' lives were taken away at the last altercation against the Knights of the Southern Sky, but the meaning behind it was different. She new it was love, but how could she tell him? How could she bring herself to tell the blond that she had fallen in love with him, knowing that Naruto had become a widower not two months ago, and just being conscious enough to grieve about it not three weeks ago?

"I'll be out in a moment, Mána." was Agrias' response to the voice that roused her from her sleep. She noted the slight pitter-patter of raindrops hitting the closed windows and simply sighed.

She forced herself from her lying position to sitting up and threw her legs over the side of the bed, letting her feet touch the cold stone floor. Trying to fall asleep had been progressively more difficult since he disappeared, and when Kyuubi showed himself two nights ago, it was the roughest night since the passing of her parents. She had berated herself for shamelessly crying herself to sleep that night. Placing a hand over her heart, it crumpled her night gown as it tightened into a fist, using that to help fight back the tears that began forming in her eyes.

It wasn't until about fifteen minutes later that she stepped out of the room, her hair in a messy bun, sporting a loose blue colored cotton shirt, brown leather riding pants, and black leather boots; and made her way to the dining room to eat her morning meal, which would signify the beginning of another long and painful day. Tear streaks down her porcelain cheeks gave away her recent thoughts.

_'Mother, Father, please tell me what to do…'_

_Scene Change—_

'_**Talk to her, Naruto. That's all you need to do.'**_

"Damn it, Kyuubi…why do you have to be right about this?"

The water fell from the heavens, as if the floodgates that were holding back the downpour broke and released all at once. Garbed only with a dark green cloak he had bartered in town for some labor work and the clothes on his back, Naruto was on his way back to the villa; all the while, Kyuubi's words echoing in his mind.

The usually smiling blond had been serious after that small bicker with the nine-tails. Their conversation after dinner the previous night was still very fresh and present in his head.

_-Flashback-_

_As the roughhousing ended for the evening, Naruto and Kyuubi ended each on the other side of the fire they had used to reheat their meal. Both were on their backs and were staring at the stars through the clearing in the forest treetops._

_Naruto was unnaturally quiet for his usual behavior, which led to a conversation start with the red-headed man. __**"What are you thinking about, 'ruto? Is it Suri again?"**_

_The blond tensed at the mention of his deceased wife's name. Every time she was brought up, the feelings of hate, anger, and helplessness filled his being; tears formed in his eyes and spilled freely, as did a trickle of blood from where he was biting deeply into his lip. _

_**"Look, Kit; I know how much you two loved each other…"**__ he said sitting up from his position__**."…and I can tell you that she wouldn't want you to stay in the same path as Sasuke…" **__Suri was never very fond of the Uchiha and the stories that she had heard throughout the year of courting with Naruto and the two of being married to him. __**"Now, me on the other hand, you know I enjoy getting my hands dirty and exacting wrathful vengeance upon the just and the wicked alike, but that's not you. We'll take our revenge on the ones who took your current life away from you…just don't take your future one away from yourself."**_

_The demon in human form stood up and stretched for a moment, before giving him a final piece of advice. __**"Talk to her, Naruto. That's all you need to do."**__ Kyuubi left to walk along the forest and didn't return throughout the night; the blond was alone when he went to sleep and woke up alone in the campsite and without a demon sealed in his gut._

_-End Flashback-_

_'What should I do, Suri? What do you want me to do? I can't simply allow myself to fall in love again.'_

Trudging on the muddy ground, the blond made his way slowly to the house of the girl – no, woman who saved his life, and Kyuubi's by default. Too focused was he in his own thoughts that he failed to notice the shadows that trailed him from afar.

"Report." A monotone voice echoed in a dark, damp, un-worked cavern.

"Yes sir. We had received reports from several of the citizens that live in the land provided to the Oaks Family, of a golden-haired man, roughly in his twenties, that accurately resembles the 'Spiraling Maelstrom' from across the sea. It is apparent that he has been staying under the care of the late Valene and Gallant Oaks' daughter, Agrias Oaks, from the lineage of Royal Bodyguards. We have agents shadowing the man as we speak, but we do not know how dangerous he is." A man cloaked in a white cape with a blue lion as a crest spoke. He donned a black, full-plate armor, a helmet rested against his side, held by his armored arm. He was kneeling upon wet stone, seemingly to no one.

The sound of water dripping from crevices in the ceiling was the only disturbance in the otherwise silent and tense environment, and it stayed like that until the voice spoke once more.

"Continue to track the man known as the Maelstrom. If he seems dangerous, smite him down. The will of Ajora be done."

"Yes, my liege." And with those words, the lion-crested knight, rose to his feet and walked out through a tunnel that became dimly illuminated by a soft yellow glow.

The pitter patter of the raindrops on her dark leather cloak did little to faze her. Agrias was like a drone, simply following the pre-ordained agenda for the day; and was now heading to the local temple of Glabados. Her eyes were glazed, directing her steed by instinct more than by sight; but her attention was snapped to a figure that appeared on the side of the road, several yards away from were she was.

Her eyes lit up when she saw the recognizable clothes, the wet blond hair that matted his face, the whisker-like scars that the man had on his cheeks, and those blue eyes that conveyed a feeling of sorrow she saw only when he was reminiscing about his wife.

The rain picked up, the light raindrops came down with more force and in higher quantities. The lightning flashed in the heavens and a thundering roar deafened the surroundings.

But that didn't matter to her. All she could hear was the deafening thumping of her beating heart as she commanded her horse to hurry up, to take her to the man she fell in love with. She knew she wasn't thinking straight, she knew she would have reached him if she hadn't increased her mount's speed.

Is this what love does to a person? Make them irrational?

She didn't care that her steed was still racing down the muddy path when she jumped off, her arms extended to him, her tears mixing with the rain that fell from the heavens; her voice calling his name in happiness as a glistening blade of lightning and a resounding boom struck not far away, drowning her sobs as he caught her and she cried in his arms.

Naruto stood still, holding a girl in his arms the same way he held Suri when he came back wounded from a mission. They were tears of worry, tears of happiness for him being alive. His chin was resting on her head; her hands on his sides, gripping the fabric of his shirt as she wept and sobbed into his chest. His arms were around her, holding her like a frail doll made of china, too afraid to hold too tight and breaking her, yet holding with enough grip to not let her go.

The thunder roared over the heavens, drowning Agrias' cries, the rain mixed with her tears; but as she calmed down, the storm died down.

When she stopped crying, the rain stopped drizzling.

When her sobs ended, the thunder quieted down.

Agrias couldn't bring herself to look upwards. She couldn't seem to muster the courage to even talk to him; so she stayed quiet, reveling in the embrace they were, taking in the scent of the forest he carried on himself due to his time training outside for the past week.

"Agrias…" he interrupted her thought process. "…I want to tell you that I know how you feel about me,"

Her body became rigid, and her breath hitched in her throat. Never it had crossed her mind that he would be the one to strike up a conversation that regarded this subject.

"I can't return those feelings for you…at least not at this moment,"

At first, she felt her body grow deathly cold, she felt like her reason to live had been taken away from her…but as he continued, a warmth flowed from her chest filled her body with hope. She dared to turn upwards and felt Naruto's chin move out of the way, allowing her to look at his face.

"I have something to take care of in my homeland," he said in a deep and soothing voice. "And until then, I cannot allow myself to fall in love once more. When I make the ones who killed my wife and the village I lived in pay, then I will return to you; and if you still feel the same as you feel now, then allow me to court you…is that feasible?"

Even though he had a small smile of his face, his eyes lacked the shine that they usually had.

Closing her eyes and resting her forehead on his chest once more, she spoke softly, to which Naruto smiled a genuine smile, tightened his embrace for another moment, and disappeared from her grasp, leaving the girl standing alone in the middle of the road, with a longing stare to the horizon.

_Scene Change—_

"I said three days, but I am done mourning. I know you are out there and aware of each and every one of my moves until we finish our talk, so let's talk."

Naruto spoke to the wind, sitting once more on the same rock in the middle of the crashing ocean waves, his Sage Mode engaged; but as he finished, seven robed figures of different builds and sizes shimmered into existence.

"Are you ready, Son of the Elements?" said the one dressed in grey robes with a sand clock design on his back.

Naruto simply nodded and stood up. "Let's go, Kyuubi. I assume you've taken care of the two who were shadowing us?"

The red-headed man manifested behind Naruto, his back pressed against his summoners'; his claws drenched in the crimson, vital fluid that pumps in living beings.

**"That is correct, Naruto. They seemed to want to figure out how dangerous you are. I guess they weren't aware that you don't travel alone."** He spoke as he licked the blood off his fingers and finished washing his appendages in the water below them. **"They will never find them."**

"Good."

As Kyuubi stood up once more and faced the seven nervous mages, Naruto flashed a grin.

"Shall we?"

As the seven mages chanted a spell, Agrias' last words to him rang deep in his soul, and smiled as he stepped into a blue gateway made by the seven magi combined power.

'_I...I think this is how you say it…aishiteru, Naruto.'_

Chapter Three – End

_A/N:_

_Chapter Three – Spell Checked, Grammar Checked, and Slightly Modified._

_Don't have a Beta, so if you find any mistakes, let me know, and I'll fix it. Thanks._

_**Please Read and Review.**_

_-seilif._


	5. Four

Disclaimer – I do not own Naruto

– **Chapter 4 –** From Roots to Leaves

-Four Months Later.

The blazing sun of the desert skies glared with intensity over Hidden Sand. The youngest Kazekage rested on the windowsill of his tower, contemplating the turn of events in the past half a year since the disappearance of his friend, Uzumaki Naruto, at the hands of the Warmonger, Danzo.

He had received the news that Land of Waves had been razed to the ground, all for the purpose of finding the blonde maelstrom, capturing, and 're-educating' him to Danzo's will; but the plan backfired, with the host of the nine-tails going berserk, then AWOL during the aftermath. No one had seen him since; there was no information whether he was dead or alive; and with the chakra signature of both him and the Kyuubi having disappeared from the face of the elemental nations; things were tense to say the least.

And it didn't help the situation when the major clans of the Leaf found out of Danzo's underhanded scheme of trying to capture a former Leaf ninja who retired from active duty to live his life as a husband and inn owner; civil war broke out, splitting the village in two factions: those against Danzo, and those with him.

The civil council chose to side with the dictator, claiming that what he did was for the best interest of the village, yet the founding clans of Hidden Leaf; those within the ninja council, revolted.

Needless to say, Hidden Leaf was now called Hidden Root, having become a mindless, militaristic society, with Danzo as the head. Those who left during the civil war went to seek refuge with Hidden Sand, causing the War Hawk to re-think attacking the desert village in order to expand the power of the Leaf.

"I promised to you, a few years back, that I would protect your precious people, if given the chance. So that is what I am doing now." Gaara spoke to the wind. "You are not one to die easily, Uzumaki; don't prove me wrong now."

He lifted his sight to the hawk that was flying over the village and smiled at the call it gave out.

He smirked. "It begins. Today, we re-take the Leaf." And with a whirl of sand, he disappeared from his office.

_Meanwhile, in Hidden Root – _

"Report."

"The search for the Nine-Tails still has sowed no results. His body is nowhere to be fo-"

His sentence was cut short as his life came to an untimely end, his head splitting open perfectly in half, then rolling off his neck from a second swipe of a now bloody blade.

Danzo gripped the hilt with enough force to turn his knuckles white and cracking the wooden guard that covered the tang of the wakizashi. "Excuses! No one in this assignment is to come back and report a failure. I do not care how long it takes, find his body and bring it to me. Understood?"

Silent affirmations passed through the room, as twenty-five Root members disappeared in a cloud of smoke, flickering away to resume their search.

"Damn that container child. If only Sarutobi had handed him to me when he was born, I'd ha-..."

"You'd what? Turn me into a weapon for the Leaf?"

Danzo's body froze as he felt the cold bite of steel through his heart. Peering down, he could see the bloody edge of a ninja-to, sticking from his chest, before blurring out of existence and re-appearing several feet away, facing the man who had just killed him once.

"Oh? Izanagi already?" smiled a red-eyed Naruto, as he licked the phantom blood of the now clean blade. Baring his fangs, the blonde smiled at the Shadow usurper. "That's one Sharingan down, and if memory serves me well, there's four more to go..."

_Just Outside – _

Outside the tower, Kyuubi stood with his claws once again drenched in crimson, at his feet no less than twenty dead Root ninja lay. If his smirk could kill, all of Hidden Root would have been eradicated, but he waited patiently for the rest of Danzo's lackeys to show up.

In a heptagon formation, were the seven robed mages, each standing in a circle which had lines connecting to each other, forming a seven-pointed star, with the Hokage's tower in the center. A warm, yellow light emanated from the lines, as they waited for the Maelstrom to hit.

_Outside the walls of Hidden Root – _

"Kamakiri, Kikai, Hebi, Kage, we are almost at out target. Be prepared to engage upon passing the barrier."

"Hai." Came the answer in unison by the four masked ANBU. The squad leader kept his porcelain mask fixed into the distance, glued to the massive walls of his once former home, their surface turned into a deathtrap of chakra-repelling mangled iron spikes and wires, used to prevent people from climbing them with ease.

As the black ops team approached the seemingly unguarded wall, the team was halted by the one known as Kamakiri. "I see dead soldiers up front. The gate is unprotected, and there is a path of bloodshed heading straight to the tower. There is a powerful barrier erected, yet I sense no chakra, other than..."

"Other than...? Report, what do you see?" Ookami commanded.

"Kyuubi..." Kamakiri responded. "It's the Kyuubi! It's in human form, as Naruto had presented him to us in the past!"

The four remaining squad members gasped at the meaning of this revelation. Either Kyuubi was here by himself, or... "We're changing the plans. We are to infiltrate, prepare the payload, and move to support the fox. We might get some insight on to what has happened to Naruto."

"HAI!"

And with renewed vigor, the deep strike team crossed the broken doors to the village, and spread out, each one knowing what to do.

_With Kyuubi – _

**"Is that all you got?"** Kyuubi's bored voice sounded throughout the battlefield**. "I remember a few months back having more fun with one of you! I was even caught in an illusion for a few seconds! Don't tell me you can't get me to have fun once more."** He actually sounded disappointed.

More bodies were piled up around him and the tower. None of the Root soldiers that tried to bypass Kyuubi to try and breach the magical barrier were successful, and only sped up their deaths by being struck down from unexpected sources of elemental strikes, become entangled, or simply fall dead without explanations. All the while, the seven mages waited, while the Kyuubi blinked out of existence, while snuffing more lives with his bare hands and teeth.

_Back with our Hero – _

"That's one more Sharingan down, Danzo. You have what, maybe three left? I honestly don't think you managed to capture the traitor Uchiha in my absence, but I could be wrong." Spoke Naruto as he cracked his pristine hands, who were but a moment ago, inside the false Hokage's chest. "I still have to pay you back for the death of my wife, but I'll make sure that is the last thing you remember before I send you to hell..."

"You think you can win this, boy? I have years of battle experience over you! I will not fall today, and I shall make you my puppet!" Danzo exclaimed as he ripped out the shreds of robes he had left.

He then blinked, and Naruto was gone.

_Somewhere inside the Village – _

"Kamakiri in position."

"Hebi, in position."

"Kikai, ready."

"..."

"Kage, report. Are you in position?"

"Kage here, I'm in position."

"On my mark, deliver the payload."

In several locations throughout the ruined village, the five crouched down and unsealed a large scroll each, which was unrolled. It was when they heard the call, that they slashed their fingers to draw blood, and performed a series of hand seals before touching the symbol for 'summon' within each scroll.

It was then, a sandstorm struck the forest.

_Suddenly – _

"WE BRING YOU THE SAND, THE MIGHT OF THE DESERT, FOREVER FEEL THIRST!"

The haiku resounded as a battle cry heard throughout Hidden Root. Any and all Root agents that were patrolling stopped in their tracks, as a wave of sand shinobi and kunoichi spread from within the city and began striking down the ones who followed the usurper.

Those of Hidden Root who managed to survive the surprise attack, wondered what the feeling of impending doom meant, when they saw a blanket of sand the size of the village, float overhead, blocking the sun, with the Kazekage just underneath the floating mass.

–

_With a smirk – _

Kyuubi stopped in his tracks, his teeth glistening like dark rubies, bits of flesh between his fangs, as he dropped a lifeless corpse from his hold. He was surprised, to say the least, to be in the middle of this new dilemma, for neither he, Naruto, or the seven knew that this would be taking place at the moment. The fact that the sky was covered by a large wave of sand, and the former container of the One-Tail directing an attack over Naruto's previous village, well, it just made things more interesting.

Returning to what he was about to finish, Kyuubi put the final finishing touches, then turned around and took a couple of steps back, before settling himself in a chair made of the corpses of the Root agents he had been killing all day.

**"Might as well sit back and wait until the kit finishes up his part."**

He crossed his right leg over the left, and placed his arms on the bloodied limbs that formed the armrests His chin rested on his fist, as he watched the massacre of Hidden Root begin to its full glory from his blood and bone throne.

–

_Back with our operatives – _

"Ookami, this is Hebi. The Kyuubi is not moving, he is simply sitting down on a throne of corpses."

"I see. Prepare to engage peacefully. Do not move until I reach your position."

It didn't take too long after the statement for Ookami to show up. His silver mop of hair bobbed for a moment before once again sticking up, defying gravity. Three other figures flickered next to the two that were already there, and made their presence known to the King of the Tailed Beasts.

And then, the top of the Hokage's former tower, exploded violently with sounds of heavy combat from within.

–

_Elsewhere – _

"And then, there was one. Tell me, Danzo. Are you going to use Izanagi with Shisui's eye? Or do you wish to see how you will die in slow motion?"

Naruto stood close to the crumbling remains of the Hokage's Office wall, his hair and clothes billowing with the wind that whipped at that height, his eyes dancing between Danzo and the sand that drizzled from the heavens.

"Damn you, Uzumaki. You have been a pain on my side since the day you were born. You could have been the perfect weapon, but now, here you are, and with Hidden Sand no less! I will teach you and the former host of the One-Tail to respect your superiors! WOOD RELEASE: THOUSAND SPLINTERING BIND!"

Naruto's world became pain, as he felt Danzo's foul chakra burst from his chest in the form of tree branches that ensnared and immobilized him. The feeling of roots creeping from within and slowly wrapping around his heart and began squeezing was unbearable; and it was then he blacked out from the pain.

–

_At the Bloody Throne - _

**"It has been a while, Kakashi. You never did go visit us to Wave all those months ago as you promised."** Kyuubi spoke to the agent known as Ookami. "**To what do I owe this pleasure?"** He mocked from his corpse seat. He then took a moment to look at the other four that accompanied him while cleaning his shoulders of the earthen matter that fell from above. **"Ah, Hyuuga Neji, Aburame Shino, Nara Shikamaru, and Mitarashi Anko, I assume you're not here to fight, are you? Quite a shame; I could use some entertainment. These ones here proved to be...inadequate."** He smirked as he motioned to the remains of the Root ninja that were strewn all around the battlefield.

The five shuddered for a moment at the thought of engaging the Demon King. It was then that Kakashi spoke. "No, Kyuubi. We were here on a Deep Strike mission, to set up the re-taking of the Leaf via Hidden Sand's assistance. When Neji discovered your chakra, we came to speak with you once our part was over."

He then proceeded to remove the wolf-shaped porcelain mask.

**"Oh? You lost your other eye, Kakashi? So, only the Sharingan remains?"** Kyuubi smiled.

Kakashi nodded. A nasty gash covered the right side of his face, all thanks to the civil war; he was on the bad end of an exploding tag and lost hearing in his right ear and his right eye. "You get used to fighting blind." He said with his trademark U-shaped eye. "I consider it more of a challenge anyway."

The other three took off their own masks, to reveal also scarring in different places. The fall of Hidden Leaf took many lives and left many injured. But now, they were taking back their home.

As Kakashi was about to speak, the five Leaf loyalists jumped from a hail of shuriken and kunai that impaled the ground where they were a scant second before, and turned around to face a squad of four Root agents ready to strike.

**"They're all yours, kids. I'll sit back and enjoy the show."** Kyuubi said smugly.

The five Konoha agents nodded and each broke off to face a target; with Kakashi waiting in case there was a fifth hidden Root nin.

–

Anko attacked fast, hard, and efficiently. Her taijutsu combined the deadliness of a black mamba, the strength of a python, and the swiftness of the puff adder. She stood her ground, and when the root agent lunged, trying to impale her with his katana, she struck his hand, arm, armpit, and heart pressure points. The poisonous chakra she injected into him acted fast enough to drop him within the second. "Kebiken: Kobura Kougeki (Snake Fist: Cobra Strike)." She spat on the man's mask as he took his final breath.

Shino unleashed a wave of kikaichu bugs at his target, which proved to be a simple log when the clattering of wood gave it away. He stood calmly and analyzed the situation and reacted swiftly from the oncoming projectiles and moved his body with minimal effort. With a twitch of his eyebrow, he sent a signal, and his target fell dead from chakra deprivation a moment later. "Hijutsu: Ikou (Hidden Technique: Migration)."

Neji quickly smeared a bit of blood on his shoulder pads, and a moment later, two wooden arms materialized from his shoulder blades. He flexed his fingers and the hands did so too, and not a moment too soon, he sprung into action. "Karakuri Engeki: Jyuken (Puppet Play: Gentle Fist)" The wooden hands controlled by invisible chakra strings, striking his opponent in the sternum and left arm with his own hands while the two puppet ones quickly struck the root nin's temple and forehead; sending deadly blasts of chakra to four different parts of his body.

Shikamaru surprised Kyuubi as he jumped on the initiative, sending a barrage of kunai through the battle field, then flowing between hand seals with practiced ease. "Kage Soujuu: Hawatari no Kage (Shadow Manipulation: Walking on the Edge of a Sword of Shadows)." The root member saw black lines form on the ground, intersecting with each projectile and immediately jumped to avoid his shadow getting caught, but failed to escape all said shadows lines as they came at him as black blades springing from the earth. His life ended in the blink of an eye, as the last thing he saw was his dismembered body land in a pile of flesh, blood and bones. "Tch, troublesome..."

The six of them waited for any other attacks, but quickly turned around to the sounds of the Hokage tower exploding, and seeing a tree grow from where the battle was taking place.

In the midst of his four subordinates engaging the ambushers, the scarecrow tilted his head slightly to the right, avoiding a shuriken that would have impaled itself at the base of his skull. He instinctively proceeded to twist his body out of harms way, as a volley of sharp metal objects rained upon his position.

In an amazing display of agility, dexterity, and speed, he evaded every single weapon that was thrown at him and zoned into the location of where they were thrown from; and simply vanished.

The three Root shinobi that were acting as back up became fully alert once his presence became hidden, both in sight and chakra. The sensor in the group immediately began scanning the area for the Hokage's position; and found it almost a second later; but that proved to be a second too late; for stabbed in his throat, all the way through his spine, was the re-forged Hakkō, the tanto blade that gave his father the nickname of White Fang.

The two other Root nin immediately scattered when they felt their comrade's presence dissipate abruptly. Figuring two on one was better than getting picked off one at a time, they both landed back to back, waiting for the un-rightful leader of Hidden Leaf to make his move; and so he did.

Opening his remaining eye, he muttered the word that spelled their death, as suddenly gravity seemed to collapse between them, pulling them into a tiny hole that was ripped one in the fabric of space and time. The two cried in pain as they felt their bones and internal organs being crushed and sucked in through the pin-head sized opening and being sent to oblivion as grinded meat.

–

_With the Sand Lord – _

"Suna Shigure (Rain of Sand)."

The sand that floated above Hidden Root began drizzling down from the heavens, which was the next part of the invasion, signaling all invading forces to retreat to the walls once the last grain touched earth. It was enough sand to coat the entire village in a foot of the foreign element. "I will feel you all; there is no place to hide." He spoke to no one as he observed the progression of the battle.

"I bless you with sand; I am the desert's chosen, sink in your despair."

He recited a second haiku as he began a long chain of seals.

–

_In the Circle of Protection – _

"Do you all think this is more than enough research on these energies? These 'chakras' the maelstrom calls them?" Rosa asked. She had her eyes closed to the massacre that was happening outside of her protective shielding.

"Yes." Responded Olan. "Once we get back to our continent, we shall delve further in a controlled environment with Naruto and Kyuubi. Same as the Sand Rat Cellar experiment."

All seven nodded, and then paid attention to the new explosion on the tower summit.

–

_With Danzo and Naruto – _

"I have you now, insolent brat. You shall know your place as my dog. You will bark when I tell you, you will beg when I command. You will only go out for walks when I deem you worthy, and you will always be on a leash."

Naruto's pained visage was a sight to behold. Danzo smiled evilly as he approached the unconscious boy's body. "You will never see the sun of day again until I break you and piece you back together." He laughed as he took his last step before hovering over the boy, and kicked him in the chin.

His world turned white with pain when Naruto exploded.

–

_Suddenly – _

All of Konoha's eyes turned to the second explosion coming from the Hokage tower, only a couple of minutes from the first one, and it was only then that the last of the sand drizzle touched the ground.

–

_At the summit – _

"My, my, Danzo, don't you remember that I am a master of Exploding Clones? Didn't you learn anything last time?" Naruto spoke, hovering above the mangled body of the war hawk, his left side completely scorched black, the smell of burnt flesh mingled in the air. "Last time I made you use your creepy arm, I had you running around from them, and you decided to kick one? Man, you really are an idiot!" He said with a hardy laugh, his eyes turning once again cerulean blue.

"H-how is it…the Tree Release should...bind you...the Kyuubi...you sho-should not be able..."

"Ah, so that's why you used such a technique against me? It would have worked...if the Kyuubi were still inside me." He said with a grin.

"Bu-but how? When? The Kyuubi is f-free?" Danzo's voice became weaker.

"That is my secret." Naruto responded with a wink. Then, his face hardened and his eyes bled red as he picked up the false Hokage by the flesh of his chest, to which Danzo painfully reacted. "Now, for my fallen wife, for my friends and family murdered in Wave…let's see if I can make you cry."

The last image Danzo took to the grave was Naruto plucking Shisui's eye with razor-sharp claws. The Usurper then felt as if molten lead was eating away his innards; fire licked the blistered right side of his body, and how a tremendous pressure encase all of him but his head. Tears ran freely from his remaining eye, at this point, cursing the existence of the blonde maelstrom and all the problems he had caused him in the past.

With a final choked cry; his body collapsed into itself by the crushing force of an exterior pressure that compressed onto all his sides evenly, causing everything underneath his skin to be violently pushed towards the only part of his tortured being that wasn't encased in sand, showering the blonde in a magnificent display of gore.

And then, sweet kiss of death.

–

_Floating above – _

"I bury you with sand, forever part of the earth, forgotten in time...Gyou Dai Sabaku no Aiyou (Imperial Reign of the Great Desert's Embrace)"

The remaining Root forces suddenly cried out in unison, as they felt the sand that surrounded them either envelop some in a cocoon, or rip out in fist-sized chunks from within their bodies..

–

_With Andalarán and the Leaf Deep Strike Team – _

**"It is time for us to leave."** Spoke the Nine-Tailed demon fox in human clothing as he slowly stood from his bloody throne. **"Our job here is done, and I don't think we'll ever be back, but who knows, right?"** He smiled a friendly smile. **"Naruto knows you're here, but he told me he didn't want to meet with anyone after this. It might change his mind and cause him to stay, which in turn would break a promise he made before we came back."**

Kakashi, Shino, Neji, and Shikamaru painfully nodded at the implications of the statement. Naruto would never break a promise he's made, and looking at them could bring back more memories than what he needs at the moment.

**"Take care, and hopefully, our paths will cross in a new world."** He said as he turned and walked towards the tower**. "Oh, and if you don't mind, please don't spread the word that we were both around? It can cause unnecessary trouble, and Naruto still hasn't mastered the final stage."**

And with that, the Kyuubi disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

–

_With the Fourth's Legacy – _

Naruto saw the sand constrict the life out of Danzo, before turning up towards the sky. "This is a victory for the Leaf and Sand alliance..." He whispered. "We are done here. Let us depart back to Ivalice."

The barrier dropped, and Naruto felt Andalarán once again inside his seal, signifying he broke the summoning. The seven mages shimmered in front of the blonde ninja, and promptly chanted in unison, forming a door of soft blue light. Uzumaki took a step in, and with one final glance, he left the elemental countries.

–

_Scene Change—_

As the battle for Hidden Leaf came to an end, five figures stood surrounding the sand-ridden corpse of Danzo the Usurper. Four of the five stood in line, while the white haired man known as Hatake Kakashi, donned his rightful robes.

"Permission to speak freely, Lord Hokage." Shino's voice broke the slightly tense atmosphere, which was responded to with a slight nod from the man he addressed. "What are we to do with Kyuubi's request? When the autopsy report is completed, they will notice the injuries caused by Uzumaki-san."

Kakashi was silent for a moment, now adjusting his headband over both his eyes. "I am aware of the implications, Shino-san; but as the fox mentioned, if it is known that he is still alive then we can cause him unnecessary trouble." He smiled as he turned to his four trusted subordinates. "He will be back when he is ready to come back, and even if he isn't, then I can be confident that he will contact us when he's able to solve what he needed to solve where he is at this moment."

With his hands behind his back, the newly instated Kage stood at the edge of his demolished tower's wall and breathed in the salty air, courtesy of the lingering sand in the environment. "Today, we take Naruto's help as a foreign power that had qualms with Danzo. We do not know who it was that left him in this position; we barely arrived to see his lifeless corpse as the sand was retreating back to our allies, and noticed the abrupt disappearance of the bloody foot prints with no traces of chakra in the air that can pinpoint as to what direction it went."

"What about the other seven robed people that had a barrier around the tower?"

"Root members who had orders to ensure whoever attacked Danzo wouldn't be able to escape. We took care of them in order to get in." Kakashi responded without missing a beat.

The four nodded to his answers and stood in attention as they noticed the intake of air on their Hokage's behalf.

"Everything we encountered today that deviated from our previous knowledge is to be considered an SS-Class secret, punishable only by six months of uninterrupted torture, then death. Are we clear on this subject?"

The sound of four affirmatives broke the air in a crisp manner. "You four are dismissed, our job here is done. Be on alert, but take the rest of the day off. The reconstruction of the Great Tree begins tomorrow."

Three of the four members disappeared suddenly, leaving the one with his dark hair in a short, pineapple shaped pony tail behind. His body slouched a bit, as he became more relaxed, ever so slightly as his hands made way into his pockets.

"Do you have something else to say, Shika-kun?" the Cyclops asked.

"Tch." He clicked his tongue as he lazily looked up to the smiling Kage. "Not that it matters at this time, but for future reference, the barrier wasn't erected via chakra. Be careful, Hokage-sama. Whoever was helping Naruto has other powers at their disposal."

"Understood, Shikamaru. Be sure to be here early tomorrow. I will need your brain for the war council meeting in the morning.

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

As Shikamaru walked off the floor and onto the wall, adhering himself with chakra, Kakashi smiled as he heard the dark haired boy mutter something about 'Troublesome Blondes'.

Chapter Three – End

_A/N:_

_Chapter Three – Spell Checked, Grammar Checked, and Slightly Modified._

_Don't have a Beta, so if you find any mistakes, let me know, and I'll fix it. Thanks._

_**Please Read and Review.**_

_-seilif._


	6. Five

Disclaimer – I do not own any of the characters named in this story. Everything is a work of fan-made fiction.

Chapter 5 – The Aftermath of Wave

"Your request has been fulfilled, and at the same time, ours has too. The harnessing of both physical and mental energies is quite a sight to behold." Spoke Red Mage Celes.

Naruto simply nodded, as he looked over his destroyed village. The magical barrier erected by the seven would provide concealment from anyone who would look upon the worked mountain.

"Are you ready to leave back to Ivalice, Naruto?" asked Maria. Her dark hair spilling over one side of her face, making her seem very childish _'and very much like Ino'_ he mused.

"There is something I must do first. I shall either meet you at the designated place before you decide to leave, or I shall make my way back to Ivalice on my own. I have a promise to fulfill there, so expect me back accross the sea at some point in the near future."

"So…be it, Naruto." The tired mage, Olan spoke as he rose his cane.

Striking his weapon on the hard, rocky floor, the Maelstrom felt his world halt for a moment, before noticing that those he came with to the Elemental Nations were gone, their presence simply disappeared from his senses. "It's time I go and make things right in Wave…" and in the blink of an eye, he was gone in a yellow flash.

'_Parry, attack, parry, attack, dodge, parry, attack, remise, parry, riposte…'_ The complex swordplay danced in the training grounds of the Royal Academy where Agrias trained. Her moves made it seem like she was dancing around her opponent with her blade. Usually, she would be on a more aggressive dance, as her instructors would tell her, but had toned down and gone for a more defensive/aloof feeling to her swordplay since her object of affection went back to his country to solve some problems that needed to be corrected.

Her instructors and others took notice of how her demeanor had changed in the past couple of months, from a young cadet who didn't feel was in the Academy out of want, but out of need; to one who enjoyed her lessons and strove to improve in every aspect possible, from footwork, to swordsmanship, to Chocobo Riding and Handling. It was clear that there was a decisive factor that made Agrias change into the way she was now, and it was said to have been the man who she saved one night at the shores of the Black Coral Sea. Rumor has it, that she brought the man known as the 'Spiraling Maelstrom' back from the brink of death, and nursed him back to full health in her own home.

"You know those are just rumors, Celia."

"They could be, but imagine if it were true? The legend known as the Maelstrom living under her roof, and under her cares; is the one who changed her attitude for growth. Master Firion." Celia responded.

The two instructors watched Agrias parry and riposte successfully with her rapier, earning her the fifth and final point in her spar, granting her the win.

"Good job, Agrias," spoke Firion. "Come to us, for there is something we wish to discuss." He motioned to the victor, and the blonde made way to her two instructors.

"Lavian, Alice, it is your turn." Called out the fencing Instructor. "Begin!"

"Agrias," the deep voice of her instructor, Firion, broke the small silence in the Instructor's Lounge.

Standing in attention, the cadet looked straight into the eyes of the two people who were teaching her the art of the sword, first to Firioniel 'Firion' Salamand, the current Academy Head Instructor; a tall, short haired albino that had seen action in the Fifty Year's War. The right side of his face was scarred by the blades of a foe he crossed swords with, earning him a close, but devastating victory in defending the Cadet Academy when he had barely been knighted. Showing promise, the dying Headmaster chose him as his successor and had been running the place for the past five years. The now 27 year old Knight had proven to be a good headmaster, training three more batches of promising knights.

Her eyes went next to Celia Reza; a young but experienced Holy Knight of the Church of Glabados. Celia was a woman of character. At the tender age of 15 she had shed more blood than all the last three batches of cadets put together during training sorties with bands of brigands. The Holy Knight was recruited by the Church to train her in the use of Holy Magicks in conjunction of her weapon. The 26 year old Knight stood proud in her full armor, her long black hair contrasted with her pale green eyes that showed a battle weary youth.

"You have been summoned by the Church of Glabados," at this, the three stood straighter. "for Holy St. Ajora has deemed you worthy of learning her Holy Sword, in the name of the King, Queen, and Princess. Be prepared, for your training is to become harsher than ever." He then motioned to the other female in the room. "Celia will be your personal instructor. She will guide you in the ways of Glabados and the light of the Holy Blade."

He smiled at the now bristling-with-barely-contained-excitement Agrias. "Congratulations, Cadet Oaks. The next step in Knighthood is a big one."

"Y-yes! Th-thank y-you!" she stuttered and fell to one knee, showing respect to the man who led her current generation of cadets into Knighthood. Her breath hitched as she heard a sword unsheathing, and she finally held it when she felt the kiss of cold steel against her neck. "Rise, as a Knight, Agrias Oaks, and embark on your training to harness the Holy Sword."

The new knight raised her head before straightening her frame and standing up. Happiness exuded from Agrias as she had taken the next step in her chosen profession.

"Agrias Oaks, you shall begin the training effective immediately, but first, you must choose your two companions that will traverse this road with you. While they may not be trained in the same arts as you will, they shall be knighted accordingly once the time comes and they shall accompany you in the path you shall take." Celia spoke.

"Do you know who you will be choosing, Agrias?" asked Firion.

"From all the candidates to choose, you will pick two of your former cadet class. Choose wisely." complemented Celia.

"Because of their friendship and support, their air of confidence, swordsmanship, and technique; I choose…"

"POINT! DRAW!" The instructor called out at the dueling cadets. "Training you two is always a surprise, for all your matches end in draws. Alice, Lavian. Good work. I guess being twins does prove to have certain advantages and disadvantages when sparring together, eh? Take a break, you've been at it for longer than the rest of the cadets."

Alice and Lavian removed their fencing equipment and smiled at each other.

' '_twas a good match, sister.'_ Thought one.

'_Indeed it was, Lavian.'_ Responded the other.

It was a little known fact that the sisters could talk to each other without words, people simply assumed that by growing up together as identical twins, they learned how each other one acted in certain situations, even though Lavian was the more hot-blooded and fearless, whereas Alice was calmer and collected. Both pale blonde haired girls excelled in sword play, they would always prove an unfair match when in joined combat.

As the twins were heading to freshen up after the intense workout, their thoughts of planning out the dinner events came to a halt when they heard their weapons instructor, a tall blonde haired, dark-skinned man that was missing his left arm, addressing them.

"Lavian and Alice Galios, you have been summoned by Lady Celia and Master Firion to the Chapel. Please cleanse yourselves before entering the Holy Place." And with that, he turned to a couple of cadets that were sitting on the ground, talking about chocobos and the best way to breed them into racing birds. "And you two! You seem to be slacking off!" He deftly unstrapped a long spear on his back and dexterously spun it around his arm and wrist, before pointing at them with the sharp bladed tip. And then he got that crazy look in his eye. "I guess it's time for more TRAINING! HAHAHAHA!"

The two cadets that were wasting time immediately scrambled, trying to get away from the notorious 'One Armed Kain' as he chased them through the training grounds yelling something on the grounds _of 'wasting sunlight' _and _'if you ain't bleeding you ain't doin' it right'_.

Lavian and Alice sweat-dropped at the display of their eccentric weapons master, and gave out a silent prayer for the two unfortunate cadets that got caught in his training wrath. The two immediately set out to tidy up and present themselves to the Academy's Head Instructor and the Holy Knight of Glabados.

_'It's been several months now since I've set foot in this place...Kami...it's like no one even bothered coming since the massacre...does that mean...?'_

It's been over two months now since Naruto had been away from the Elemental Countries, and as he was inspecting the remains of Wave Village, he could sense that there were no humans in the area. He had gone into Sage Mode shortly after setting foot, but not a single soul could be felt in the vicinity.

_'Only wild animals, feasting on the bodies of the dead...'_

Without a word or a seal, a few clones of him popped into existence, and with a silent order, they all spread out throughout the remains of the carnage to do one last thing for the remains of the citizens he failed to protect. All the while, he walked to the final resting place of his deceased wife.

_'How ironic,' _he thought as he made way._ 'Her body lays with Zabuza and Haku at this very moment.'_

The stroll was short, being he had arrived relatively close to the graves themselves; yet a pleasant surprise he received when he arrived where he last left Suri's body. Next to the giant blade that marked the grave of the former Mist ninja and the wooden cross that signified Haku's, was another marker; a simple sand colored one, with a golden wedding band encrusted into the middle.

Naruto stopped a few feet away, paralyzed with the meaning of the grave. He knew what that meant, but...could he?

His steps were hesitant, then slow. It was one thing to come to visit Zabuza and Haku...but this?

The blonde finally reached the gravestone, and a breath hitched in his throat as he recognized the ring on the marker._ 'Suri's ring. Thank you, Gaara.'_

As Naruto fell onto his knees in front of the grave, he felt the pain surfacing, tears threatening to spill, but he held it in. He touched the marker, sandy and rough to the touch. A couple of grains fell off, yet immediately floated back into the small sand construction. He dropped his hands, both resting face up over his knees as his head dropped and his golden tresses shadowed the pain-filled eyes. It wasn't until a moment later that he realized the sand had made a small tendril, extending the ring onto his self. He slowly reached out and took it, gently, as if it were the most delicate piece of glass he'd ever handled.

The sand retreated back into the marker, and left the groove for the band, as if it was still there, and Naruto wept. The torrential gates opened, and his tears flowed out of him. His sobs came uncontrolled, his throat becoming hoarse to the pain it released. His fists struck the earth, digging deep gouges from when he extended and contracted his fingers.

He didn't know how long he wept, nor how badly his throat was due to the blood that mixed with his saliva, but he didn't care. He missed her, he wanted her back.

But that would never happen.

His sobs finally ended, his face was dirty and tear-stained, his nails broken and bloodied from digging into the earth, and he simply looked out into the ocean, out into the view of the setting sun, just like he used to with his deceased wife, as a red-head observed him from a distance away.

–

"Will you accompany me? Will you be my Sword and my Shield? My Arrow and Quiver? Will you pledge your lives to me in order to protect the Royal Bloodline?"

It was a no-brainer for the twins. "We accept, Madam Oaks." They answered in unison. "We, Alicia Galios" "Lavian Galios" "Pledge to serve the Crown and the Holy Church of Glabados under the command of the Sacred Knight, Agrias Oaks. We shall accompany as far as your feet will take you. May we be your Swords until you deem we have lost our edge, may we be your Shield until we have broken. May we be your Arrows that strike true, and be your Quiver of resources. We of House Galios now, serve you."

"The rise, Lavian Galios, Alicia Galios. Rise as knights of the Church! Rise as Knights of the Crown! Rise, and be proud of who you have become."

Alicia and Lavian rose and gave their new commander a strong salute. After which, they broke into a sincere smile.

Agrias looked unto both of them, and smiled herself. She approached them and gave them both a hug. "Know that, even you are my Sword and Shield, my Arrow and my Quiver, you two are my sisters in this voyage we have embarked. We are equal amongst ourselves, so please speak your mind to me when not on duty, for I truly enjoy your insight." She told them.

"Yes, Agrias." they answered. "And thank you."

Clearing his throat, Firion brought back attention to himself. Agrias stood in between both Lavian and Alice, as the three of them payed attention to their former Instructor.

"As of today, you three are under the command of Lady Celia Reza. Be mindful that even though you are not part of the Cadet Academy, remember who taught you everything you know up until this point. Remember who gave you the tools to become who you are, and bring glory to the Royal Academy. Celia will be taking you to the place where your new training will take place. Be safe, my daughters, and may Holy St. Ajora light your path..."

"And guide us to Wisdom." All three newly appointed knights finished.

"Atta girls." Firion spoke. "You are dismissed. Lady Celia," He turned to the Holy Knight. "Be sure to take good care of them. I haven't seen a trio this promising since our own group." He said with a smile.

The three rookies went wide-eyed at the comment and immediately looked for confirmation on Celia's behalf, to which she let out a small chuckle. "I have to say you're right, Firion. I somehow feel that they will become somewhat more infamous than the 'Aegis Brigade' that saved the Academy.

"You two were," Lavian started

"Part of the," Alicia followed

"Aegis Brigade?" the three finished the sentence.

Both Firion and Celia let out a long, drawn out laughter at the sudden realization by the three that stood in front of them. After a moment or so, they regained their composure, and addressed the three confused/marveled looking teens. "Yes, yes we were." Celia was the first to answer. "It feels like only yesterday, though, when Firion, Kain, and I we-"

"WHAT!"

All three, once again, at the same time, let out a burst of incredulousness at the statement, to which they quickly realized their outburst and sunk in a bit into themselves, a bit red and in awe. Kain…a_s in 'Crazy Eye, One Armed, Weapons Master, Bleed More for Me, If it ain't broke you ain't hitting hard enough Kain_' **THAT** Kain?

"Yes, girls, believe it or not, Kain Highwind was not as crazy as he seems nowadays. He was usually the calm and collected one of us three." Firion explained. "But when he lost his arm and damaged his left leg badly enough that he couldn't really do much other than train other people in the best possible way to keep them motivated."

The three shuddered at that comment.

"If you notice, even though he pushed you to the limits of your own body, he never did harm you in any way that couldn't be handled with a good night's rest. In fact, he would always be there to lend you a hand when you fell, and carry you to your quarters if you couldn't. He's a big teddy bear. A big, fluffy, lovable, one-of-a-kind, heart of gold, teddy be-"

Firion never did manage to finish the sentence, as he felt a foot impact his left temple and sent him crashing into the pews. Agrias, Lavian, and Alice gave out a yelp of surprise, shocked to see their Headmaster Firion flying and crashing into the rows of wooden seats, while Kain appeared out of the blue with a wild look in his eye. _'There he goes again...oh Lord, what's he doing!'_ Agrias thought, with Lavian and Alice thinking in a similar pattern. Celia simply smirked and moved closer to the three, getting out of the way of the two quarreling men.

"I've told you many times, Fifi, NEVER TO CALL ME A TEDDY BEAR!"

"And I've told you, Teddy Bear, NEVER TO CALL ME FIFI EVER AGAIN!"

"NOW YOU'VE DONE IT! !"

"BRING IT!"

And an all out brawl ensued in the middle of the Chapel. Carpets getting torn, more pews getting smashed, candles and incense burners broken, dropped, and a couple of stained glass windows shattered in the chaos that ensued, all the while, yelling and name calling happened with the occasional _'yes you did, no you didn't'_ rant about exploits during the war.

While the three stared in shock and awe at the Headmaster and the Weapons Instructor get into it like little boys, Celia leaned into them and whispered. "Believe it or not, this happens every time there are recruits that graduate early and sent to serve as Holy Knights. Now, let's get out of here before they say something they'll regret."

And she began ushering the three girls out of the war zone.

For the past two weeks, he just sat there, leaving only for a few minutes every four hours and coming back to sit next to the new grave marker. He had made several clones at the start of every day, and sent them to clear out the remains of the village that he once called home. Long ago, he came to notice the figure that stood silently in the background, the familiar chakra signature tainted by a demon's youki gave Naruto peace of mind to simply relax and not care for once, yet even knowing that he was there, the maelstrom was silent, and Gaara gave him the space he needed.

It wasn't until the beginning of the third week when the blonde stood up and walked to the red-head, who in turn, came out of the shadows; his black-ringed eyes ever observant to the man who saved him from the darkness he was once in. "The memories…they hurt, right?" Gaara asked.

The pained look in Naruto's face was more than enough to answer his question. "Come to Suna with me. You are a hero there; come as my guest, and live out your retirement with us, Uzumaki."

Looking into his friend's eyes, Naruto pondered the request, and shook his head. "As much as your invitation tempts me, Gaara, there is somewhere I need to go. I have made a promise to return there, and you know I don't break them." He said with a small smile on his face.

The red-head's eyebrow rose a bit at the statement received. "Where is it that you're going, Uzumaki?"

"Ivalice,"

Ahh, Ivalice. The country located across the sea about a week's travel southbound from the Land of Waves. "Then so be it, Uzumaki. I shall come visit you one of these days, then." And with that, he turned around and began walking away.

"You won't even know where I am, Gaara. Ivalice is a big country." Naruto said with a smile.

The Wind Shadow didn't stop walking to retort the blonde's statement. "Haven't you noticed that there's always sand on you in places it doesn't bother? I always know where you are, Naruto. Take care, my friend."

Naruto watched Gaara walk off into the remains of the village, where his clones were busy reconstructing the place after having buried the dead and paid respects at the beginning of his mourning period here, two weeks ago. He always did wonder how Gaara knew where he was, and his revelation made much sense. There would always be a pinch or two of sand tucked in between folds of his pants, inside his weapon pouch, and clinging to the medical tapes he would use to bind his clothes to his person and reinforce his joints.

"You know, the offer still stands..." Gaara stopped walking and spoke again. "...you deserve to be with those who love and respect you at least until you're better." Gaara pushed the issue. "Think of it as a vacation, or a training trip. I'll make sure your stay in Hidden Sand will be as quiet as a drop of water in a desert."

"You don't mean like a Leaf in the Desert, right? Completely out of place?" Naruto smirked._ 'I guess some time off before going back is something I can do.' _he told himself.

Looking at the grave marker one last time, Naruto ran a hand through his wild mane before taking a knee in front of Suri's grave. Brandishing a kunai, the Maelstrom infused it with wind chakra before making a two cuts on his deceased wife's ring, halfway into the band, directly on opposite He then proceeded to repeat the action on his own in a manner that both rings would fit together as two interloping circles.

"Gaara..." Naruto asked as he turned to his friend. "...would you mind taking care of this for me?" he motioned his newly fashioned interlocked rings to him.

As he finished talking, a small tendril of sand formed from the grave marker, taking the rings inside of it, before hardening into sandstone.

"Thank you, my friend." were Naruto's only words.

"Come now, Uzumaki. There is much to do in Hidden Sand, and I do believe that Baki doesn't appreciate it when I disappear for three weeks without warning."

"Without warning? You didn't tell anyone you left?" asked the perplexed Naruto. "You're the Wind Shadow! The most powerful man in Hidden Sand! You're presence there is very important!"

"And you are not important, Uzumaki?" That brought Naruto's tirade to a stop. "Aren't you the one who saved me from my inner demons all those years ago? The one I owe my life to more times than I can count?" Gaara walked next to the thoughtful blonde before placing a hand on the Maelstrom's shoulder. "For you, I would drop the position as Kazekage if it means that I can help you in any way I can."

Naruto was silent, listening to Gaara's words. "Thank you, Lord Wind Shadow."

"You're welcome, Spiraling Maelstrom. Now, let us move on. We're a ways away from Wind Country, and as much as I like the ocean and the trees, this humidity makes my sand control much more troublesome."

'Heh, sounds just like his brother-in-law.'

And with that thought, they both departed on a week's long journey to Hidden Sand.

Chapter Five – End

_Chapter Three – Spell Checked, Grammar Checked, Completed._

_A/N: Well, I'm finally back with another update. I would like to thank the couple of reviewers I've gotten throughout this story's life. I know it's not much that I get to update, and I know I don't have many who read this story (mainly because I don't really think anyone is interested in a Naruto/FFT Xover). _

_Actually having a decent job makes it hard to update, as you can see, it's been 5 months since last chapter uploaded, but I guess I might have some extra time now, so who knows? Maybe get some more updates in from now onwards._

_Well, as I have mentioned before, I don't have a beta, so if you find any mistakes, let me know and I'll fix them. Thanks._

_**Please Read and review.**_

_-seilif_


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